Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Mirae Asset increased its stake in Aon by 21.0% in Q4 to 37,552 shares, worth about $13.25 million, as institutional investors collectively own roughly 86.14% of the company.
• Wall Street has a Moderate Buy consensus on Aon with an average target of $401.81; the company beat Q4 EPS expectations ($4.85 vs. $4.75) and sell-side analysts forecast FY EPS of 17.21.
• Aon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28, ~1.0% yield; ex-dividend May 1), while insiders showed mixed activity— a director bought 4,000 shares and the general counsel sold 5,040 shares.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,509 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in AON were worth $13,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,291,048,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of AON by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,324,818,000 after purchasing an additional 207,690 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,235,437,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $830,945,000 after purchasing an additional 249,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,278,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $812,295,000 after purchasing an additional 291,600 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of AON from $397.00 to $394.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $401.81.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $331.89 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $324.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.

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