Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its holdings in Aon plc by 18.2%, selling 2,040 shares and holding 9,179 shares valued at $3.66 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Aon reported $3.49 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.5%.
• Analysts have upgraded Aon's stock ratings, with price targets ranging from $408.00 to $438.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,040 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in AON were worth $3,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

AON Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AON stock opened at $364.85 on Friday. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $323.73 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The company has a market capitalization of $78.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $358.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 target price (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $409.21.

AON Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.