Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 363,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 196,510 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AON were worth $130,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AON. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $364.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $78.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $391.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $374.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. AON’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AON shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.13.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.