Vanguard Group Inc. Has $7.89 Billion Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aon plc by 1.3% in Q1, now owning approximately 9.16% of the company with a value of about $7.89 billion.
• Several institutional investors, including FMR LLC and Invesco Ltd., have also significantly raised their positions in Aon, indicating strong investor interest.
• Aon reported quarterly EPS of $3.49, which surpassed analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, yielding 0.8%.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,778,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 258,699 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.16% of AON worth $7,893,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AON. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its position in AON by 1.9% in the first 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 during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in AON by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in AON by 2.6% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AON traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $366.39. 1,095,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,192. 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 market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $357.97 and a 200-day moving average of $370.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio is 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $408.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price objective (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $409.21.

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.