AXQ Capital LP Raises Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

AXQ Capital LP raised its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 348.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,093 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in AON were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth about $4,305,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in AON by 220.7% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth about $1,752,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in AON by 64.9% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 19,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,808,000 after purchasing an additional 7,512 shares during the period. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in AON by 10.9% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.81.

AON Trading Down 0.7%

AON opened at $318.11 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.71. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $321.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.87.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a 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 payout ratio is presently 16.36%.

AON 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.