Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,887 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AON were worth $6,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in AON by 19.4% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 35,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,978,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,746,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AON from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AON from $451.00 to $448.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AON from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $379.00 price target (down previously from $420.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.18.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $356.65 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $346.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.40.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 23.88%.

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.