Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Aon plc by 13.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 137,118 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 1,158,139 shares valued at approximately $462 million.
• Brokerages have recently provided mixed ratings for Aon, with Goldman Sachs upgrading it to "buy" and a price target of $408, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target from $414 to $409.
• Aon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share to be paid on August 15, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of approximately 24.96%.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,158,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 137,118 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.54% of AON worth $462,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qtron Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,737,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $525,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of AON by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,016,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $724,416,000 after purchasing an additional 45,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFL Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. LFL Advisers LLC now owns 87,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded up $7.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $370.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,316,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,534,112. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $357.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.68. The company has a market cap of $79.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $323.73 and a twelve month high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. AON's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price target (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $410.69.

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.