Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 129,755 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Aon plc by 2,290.9% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 135,419 shares valued at $54 million.
• Aon reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.49, surpassing estimates by $0.09, and experiencing a 10.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745, yielding 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 24.96%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 2,290.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 129,755 shares during the quarter. AON comprises about 0.5% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of AON worth $54,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AON. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AON by 54.7% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AON by 111.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 0.7%

AON stock traded down $2.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $353.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,640,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $358.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.81. The company has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.83. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $322.95 and a 52 week high of $412.97.

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

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AON shares. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price target (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.