Aon plc $AON Shares Acquired by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $17,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in AON by 176.9% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 8,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 5,115 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in AON by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in AON by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 67,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,655,000 after purchasing an additional 5,585 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in AON by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 45,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in AON by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 42,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE AON opened at $323.44 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $321.85 and a 200-day moving average of $335.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $69.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.88.

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.