Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,185 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.07% of AON worth $53,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AON. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in AON by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of AON by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AON by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in AON by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AON to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AON from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $378.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $392.00.

AON Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AON traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $340.11. 1,026,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,293. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $275.07 and a 12 month high of $412.97. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $386.53 and a 200 day moving average of $375.91.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. AON's payout ratio is 25.38%.

AON 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.