Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 372,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 376 shares during the period. AON makes up about 2.6% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $133,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 2,025.0% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 1,162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $393.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $384.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.09. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

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

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment 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.com, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

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.