Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 504.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,178 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $25,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in AON by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after buying an additional 4,387,773 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth about $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of AON by 40,219.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the period. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,372,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler cut shares of AON from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AON from $360.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.56.

AON Trading Down 0.5%

AON opened at $366.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.19. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year 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.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

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.