Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Aon plc $AON

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 123,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,382 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $43,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AON by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 134,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,304,000 after buying an additional 4,250 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AON by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,596,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,308,000 after buying an additional 32,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $324.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.94. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.07 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 16.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on AON from $388.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.00.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.