Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stake in Aon plc $AON

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,520 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in AON were worth $21,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 24,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,572,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Platform Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $430,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:AON opened at $328.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.81.

AON 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.