Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is Polen Capital Management LLC's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aon plc by 318.1% to over 3 million shares, making it the 10th largest position in their portfolio, valued at approximately $1.2 billion.
• Aon reported earnings of $3.49 per share, surpassing estimates, with a 10.5% increase in revenue compared to last year, reaching $4.16 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745, with a dividend yield of 0.8%, indicating a healthy payout ratio of approximately 25%.

Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 318.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,007,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,288,397 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 3.8% of Polen Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 1.39% of AON worth $1,200,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in AON by 530.6% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,412,000 after buying an additional 9,302 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AON by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,051,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $809,544,000 after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in AON by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,183,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AON by 425.3% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. increased its position in AON by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 7,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE AON traded up $7.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $370.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,316,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,338,396. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $323.73 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $357.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.68. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $79.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.83.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 target price (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set 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 lowered their price target on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $410.69.

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.