National Pension Service Raises Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in Aon plc by 4.1%, acquiring an additional 13,912 shares, which brings their total to 349,161 shares valued at approximately $139.35 million.
• Aon has received positive ratings from several analysts, including upgrades from Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Financial Group, with target prices now set as high as $438.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, indicating a 0.8% yield and a payout ratio of 24.96%.

National Pension Service grew its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,912 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of AON worth $139,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in AON by 13.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 288,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,029,000 after buying an additional 34,821 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in AON by 60.0% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 11,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AON by 13.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 43,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,455,000 after purchasing an additional 5,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 target price (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup started coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $410.69.

AON Trading Up 0.2%

AON stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $367.19. 1,181,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,546,041. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $357.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.60. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $323.73 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. AON's payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

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.