Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $2.21 Million Position in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has invested approximately $2.21 million in Aon plc by acquiring 5,536 shares, reflecting growing institutional interest in the firm.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Aon, with upgrades from firms like Evercore ISI and Goldman Sachs, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.69.
• Aon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, maintaining a payout ratio of 24.96% amidst solid earnings performance with a net margin of 15.54%.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,209,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AON. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 318.1% during 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON during the first quarter worth $505,108,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of AON during the first quarter worth $490,634,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 56,460.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,052,000 after buying an additional 760,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of AON by 18.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,210,864,000 after buying an additional 469,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. 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 objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price objective (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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, 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 note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.69.

AON Trading Down 0.5%

AON traded down $1.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $372.03. 172,952 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,126. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day moving average is $361.84 and its 200 day moving average is $369.66. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $323.73 and a 12 month high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

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.