Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Increases Stake in Aon plc $AON

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 143.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in AON were worth $1,394,000 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 recently modified their holdings of AON. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at $4,305,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 1,640.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 143,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,519,000 after buying an additional 134,937 shares in the last quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 356,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,259,000 after buying an additional 84,446 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of AON by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,669,000 after buying an additional 6,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TABR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,278,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 3.9%

AON stock opened at $328.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $322.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $330.87. 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 data 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. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on AON from $385.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AON from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.94.

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.