Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $596,665,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of AON by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $742,582,000 after buying an additional 960,204 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in AON by 56,460.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,052,000 after purchasing an additional 760,516 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,773,165,000 after buying an additional 627,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 5,877.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 536,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,572,000 after acquiring an additional 527,204 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $360.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $285.35 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $359.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.12.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). AON had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 52.71%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $397.27.

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.

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