Swedbank AB Takes $34.79 Million Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 104,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,788,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $423,030,000. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in AON in the 1st quarter worth about $258,471,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in AON by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,943,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,663,000 after purchasing an additional 471,424 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in AON by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 950,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,514,000 after purchasing an additional 290,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in AON by 401.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 344,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,097,000 after purchasing an additional 276,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AON from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $309.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America cut shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $330.21.

AON Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AON opened at $330.21 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $296.73 and its 200-day moving average is $303.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 4.13 and a current ratio of 2.42. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $344.68. The firm has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 21.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andy Weitz 8,454 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.