Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Reduces Position in Aon plc $AON

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 54.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 387,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 459,702 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in AON were worth $136,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in AON by 5.6% in the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AON by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in AON by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $327.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $322.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.11. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $381.00. The company has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.67 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America raised AON from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.94.

AON Profile

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.