Berkshire Hathaway Inc Trims Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Berkshire Hathaway Inc lessened its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,602,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 497,005 shares during the period. AON makes up about 0.5% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned 1.68% of AON worth $1,271,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AON. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in AON by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after buying an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of AON by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,992,000 after purchasing an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,249,000 after purchasing an additional 76,061 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of AON by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,286,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $327.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of AON from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.94.

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.