Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,409,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,580 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of AON worth $497,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AON by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $321.70 on Friday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $381.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $321.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.20. The company has a market capitalization of $68.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

AON Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AON. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AON from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.81.

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.