Cercano Management LLC Takes Position in Aon plc $AON

Cercano Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,711,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of AON by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE AON opened at $320.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $333.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $381.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.1 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.81.

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.