Cumberland Partners Ltd Makes New $3.88 Million Investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has invested approximately $3.88 million in Aon plc by acquiring 9,730 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their stakes in Aon, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Aon recently reported an EPS of $3.49 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share with a yield of 0.8%.

Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,883,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in AON in the 1st quarter worth about $25,057,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of AON by 9.0% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of AON by 3.1% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 19,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 2,290.9% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,044,000 after purchasing an additional 129,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in AON by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 32,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,799,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock traded up $7.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $360.69. 1,133,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,430,810. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $322.95 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.07 and a 200 day moving average of $370.83.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. AON's payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AON shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $409.21.

AON Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.