Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 265,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of AON worth $105,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in AON by 0.4% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in AON by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 11,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,765,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in AON by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AON opened at $355.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $357.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.64. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $292.37 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. AON had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 15.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.745 dividend. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 target price on AON in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $397.27.

AON 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.

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