Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Scharf Investments LLC

Key Points

• Scharf Investments LLC sold 1,003 shares of Aon plc, reducing its stake by 0.4%, and now holds 229,454 shares worth approximately $81.87 million.
• Analysts have given Aon plc an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with a consensus price target of $414.69, indicating optimistic expectations for the company's stock performance.
• Aon recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, which represents a 0.9% yield on an annualized basis and a payout ratio of 24.96%.

Scharf Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,003 shares during the quarter. AON comprises approximately 2.4% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned about 0.11% of AON worth $81,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in AON in the first quarter worth $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in AON by 56.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 91 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AON by 54.7% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in AON in the first quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AON stock traded up $2.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $354.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,275,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,154,699. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $323.73 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $366.02.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AON. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AON in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on AON from $427.00 to $419.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $414.69.

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.