Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.68 Million Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in AON were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its stake in AON by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 1,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter valued at approximately $693,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 5.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in AON by 2.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 377,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,604,000 after buying an additional 8,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $371.31. 705,574 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,190,923. The firm has a market cap of $80.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $283.27 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $364.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.90.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.66 EPS. AON's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Piper Sandler raised AON from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $384.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AON to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $397.27.

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.