Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,429 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in AON were worth $29,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of AON by 1,019.4% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 17,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,081,000 after purchasing an additional 16,158 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in AON by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 10,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,252,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in AON by 82.0% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 14,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,908,000 after acquiring an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 35,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,978,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter worth approximately $2,209,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $356.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $346.29 and its 200 day moving average is $355.31. Aon plc has a one year low of $323.73 and a one year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AON from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AON from $451.00 to $448.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $379.00 price target (down from $420.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.18.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.