Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 418,069 shares during the period. AON accounts for approximately 0.9% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $650,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,464,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in AON by 6.6% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,051,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in AON by 27.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 125,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,219,000 after acquiring an additional 27,280 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 314.2% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at about $635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AON shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AON from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AON from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AON in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.56.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $353.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $347.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.84. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $323.73 and a 12 month high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 23.88%.

AON Profile

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.