Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. sold 629,153 shares of Aon plc, reducing its stake by 16.1%, leaving it with 3,273,574 shares, which constitutes approximately 6.3% of its portfolio.
• Several large investors, including Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC and Value Partners Investments Inc., have recently increased their stakes in Aon, indicating continued institutional interest.
• Aon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, with an annual yield of 0.81%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,273,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 629,153 shares during the quarter. AON makes up 6.3% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.52% of AON worth $1,306,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in AON by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 68,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,576,000 after purchasing an additional 5,660 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in AON by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in AON by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 104,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,293,000 after purchasing an additional 15,495 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Down 0.6%

AON stock traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $352.79. 977,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,326,627. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.84. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $322.95 and a 1-year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 target price (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight 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 target price of $409.21.

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.