GM Advisory Group LLC Sells 12,980 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• GM Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in Aon plc by 15.1%, selling 12,980 shares and now holding a total of 73,209 shares valued at approximately $29.2 million.
• Recent research analyst ratings indicate an average target price of $409.18 for AON, with several firms raising their price targets, suggesting a generally positive outlook.
• Aon plc announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745, representing an annualized yield of 0.8% and a current payout ratio of 24.96%.

GM Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,980 shares during the period. AON makes up 1.6% of GM Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. GM Advisory Group LLC's holdings in AON were worth $29,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AON by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,778,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,893,382,000 after purchasing an additional 258,699 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of AON by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,210,864,000 after purchasing an additional 469,238 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 318.1% in the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,007,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,200,350,000 after buying an additional 2,288,397 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,390,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $954,053,000 after buying an additional 61,350 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 6.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,290,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $914,163,000 after buying an additional 131,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 target price (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $409.18.

AON Stock Down 0.2%

AON traded down $0.8030 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $374.4670. 1,190,563 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,472,991. The company has a market cap of $80.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $359.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $370.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Aon plc has a one year low of $323.73 and a one year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

About AON

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.