Machina Capital S.A.S. Raises Stake in Aon plc $AON

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 299.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,098 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in AON were worth $4,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 46.9% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 220.7% during the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of AON by 1,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 8,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,156,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AON. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday. Barclays upped their target price on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $398.00 target price on AON in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $409.75.

AON Trading Down 0.8%

AON opened at $346.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. Aon plc has a one year low of $323.73 and a one year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $347.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.62.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

AON Company Profile

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.