Swiss National Bank Sells 3,300 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Aon plc by 0.6% in the first quarter, selling 3,300 shares, while still owning 549,000 shares valued at approximately $219 million.
• Aon reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.49 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 10.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%, with the payment scheduled for August 15th.

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.25% of AON worth $219,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AON by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,778,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,893,382,000 after purchasing an additional 258,699 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of AON by 18.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,210,864,000 after purchasing an additional 469,238 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AON by 2.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,390,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $954,053,000 after purchasing an additional 61,350 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of AON by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,158,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $775,406,000 after purchasing an additional 183,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,051,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $809,544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,038 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Down 1.1%

AON stock traded down $3.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $364.17. 2,991,570 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,852. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $323.73 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $357.81 and a 200-day moving average of $370.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. AON's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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 is currently 24.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price target (up from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $409.21.

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.