Barings LLC Has $25.08 Million Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Barings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,444 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 0.5% of Barings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Barings LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $25,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in AON by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,669,000 after buying an additional 6,622 shares during the period. Burkett Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $2,950,000. Xponance LLC raised its stake in AON by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 54,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,261,000 after purchasing an additional 4,019 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $13,953,000. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $287,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:AON opened at $335.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $322.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.66. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $381.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.81.

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.