MQS Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Aon plc $AON

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000. AON makes up approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter worth about $1,292,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of AON by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 420,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowroot Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the second quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $409.75.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $317.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $309.13 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $346.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.70.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

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.