Independent Franchise Partners LLP Increases Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,040,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for 5.9% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings in AON were worth $704,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in AON in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in AON by 211.4% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AON stock traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $331.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 456,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $280.89 and a 52-week high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $66.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $326.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $327.13.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 20.74% and a negative return on equity of 1,685.76%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 1st were issued a $0.615 dividend. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 31st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AON from $322.00 to $318.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered AON from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $317.00 to $304.00 in a research report on Monday, October 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on AON in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AON from $331.00 to $339.00 in a report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $361.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $344.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, Director Byron Spruell purchased 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $324.57 per share, for a total transaction of $259,656.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,604.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health 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.