Aon plc $AON Shares Acquired by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $17,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Dodge & Cox purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,922,000 after buying an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in AON by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,565,000 after buying an additional 615,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $142,986,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.88.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $323.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $321.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $335.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.36%.

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.