Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its position in Aon plc by 82.0% during the first quarter, owning 14,805 shares valued at approximately $5.9 million.
• Aon reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.49, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues of $4.16 billion.
• Several institutional investors, including Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec, significantly increased their stakes in Aon, showcasing strong interest among hedge funds and the institutional investment community.

Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 82.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in AON were worth $5,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 530.6% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,412,000 after acquiring an additional 9,302 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in AON by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,051,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $809,544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,038 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,183,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 425.3% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. increased its stake in shares of AON by 64.4% during the first quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 7,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 2,932 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $367.16. The company had a trading volume of 774,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,791. 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 1-year low of $323.73 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The business's 50 day moving average price is $361.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.75. The firm has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87.

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

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price objective (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $412.69.

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.