Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 93,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $32,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 18.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $270,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in AON by 13.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in AON by 7.4% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 0.4 %

AON traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $355.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 584,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,376. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $360.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $342.73 and its 200-day moving average is $314.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.22 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.06.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.