Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Stake in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Aon plc by 32.2% during the second quarter, now owning 31,770 shares worth approximately $11.33 million.
• Aon’s quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $3.49 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.40.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 24.96%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,736 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in AON were worth $11,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in AON by 56.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 91 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in AON by 7.5% in the second quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in AON by 3.8% in the second quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 86,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,977,000 after acquiring an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC increased its stake in AON by 10.4% in the second quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AON by 3.5% in the second quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,223,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $352.96. 791,129 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,316,891. The company has a market capitalization of $76.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a PEG 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. The firm's 50-day moving average is $363.80 and its 200 day moving average is $366.02. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $323.73 and a 1 year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $401.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AON from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $385.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.