Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in AON were worth $8,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 203.6% in the 1st quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 6,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,218 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 1st quarter worth $2,044,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,894,053,000 after purchasing an additional 64,500 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $358.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $363.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.31.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.76 EPS. AON’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AON from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.06.

AON Company Profile

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.