Carlyle Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Carlyle Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,460,000. AON comprises approximately 0.1% of Carlyle Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in AON by 262.7% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in AON by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in AON by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 76,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 6,962 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $423,030,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $347.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $352.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $325.51 and its 200 day moving average is $310.19.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. AON’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.27.

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.