Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,761 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in AON were worth $8,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AON during the third quarter worth $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,527,440. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AON from $360.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.56.

AON Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE AON opened at $355.23 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $75.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $330.02 and a 200-day moving average of $330.86.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.67 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 18.00%.

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.