The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 130,434 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 988,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 130,434 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.46% of AON worth $355,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AON by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,237,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,563,000 after purchasing an additional 31,021 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 96,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,676,000 after buying an additional 20,942 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its stake in AON by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 255,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,859,000 after buying an additional 40,850 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in AON by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 26,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 43,000.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 390,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $140,404,000 after purchasing an additional 390,017 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $336.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $386.53 and its 200-day moving average is $375.91. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. AON's payout ratio is presently 25.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut their price target on AON from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $393.87.

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.

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