Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Stake Lowered by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lessened its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,190 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $7,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of AON by 117.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 104,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,231,000 after purchasing an additional 56,314 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,905,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in shares of AON by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 122,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,399 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of AON by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AON traded down $28.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $336.45. The company had a trading volume of 5,317,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,982. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $375.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $275.07 and a 1-year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price target on AON in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AON to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on AON from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $393.87.

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.