Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 10,937 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 260.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,937 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $5,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,569,000 after acquiring an additional 511,292 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 3.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,987,961,000 after acquiring an additional 173,722 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 5.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,818,000 after purchasing an additional 207,690 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in AON by 13.2% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,706,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $965,715,000 after purchasing an additional 316,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of AON by 1.9% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,176,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $776,326,000 after acquiring an additional 40,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $387.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.44.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $349.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $323.73 and a twelve month high of $412.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $347.99 and a 200 day moving average of $353.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.51%.

About AON

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.