Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,785 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,785 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in AON were worth $17,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AON. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $301,922,000 after purchasing an additional 844,615 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $747,565,000 after purchasing an additional 615,570 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $315.63 on Monday. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $321.71 and a 200 day moving average of $334.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.67 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AON shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.81.

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.