Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in Aon plc by 15.5%, now holding 17,316 shares valued at approximately $6.91 million.
• Mizuho's action comes as several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Aon, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which raised their positions by 1.3% and 18.3%, respectively.
• Aon recently reported earnings of $3.49 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 10.5% year-over-year increase.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,181 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in AON were worth $6,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 56,460.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,052,000 after purchasing an additional 760,516 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in AON by 5,877.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 536,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $192,572,000 after acquiring an additional 527,204 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in AON by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,210,864,000 after acquiring an additional 469,238 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in AON by 205.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 493,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,028,000 after acquiring an additional 331,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in AON by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,488,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $534,449,000 after acquiring an additional 286,147 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $4.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $366.10. 471,520 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $357.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.68. The company has a market capitalization of $78.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. AON's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AON shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price objective (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.69.

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.