First Pacific Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

First Pacific Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 728,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,495 shares during the period. AON comprises approximately 3.7% of First Pacific Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. First Pacific Advisors LP’s holdings in AON were worth $261,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in AON by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC grew its holdings in AON by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AON by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $402.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $87.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $377.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $367.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

AON Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.