BTS Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Aon plc $AON

BTS Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000. AON comprises approximately 0.6% of BTS Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 318.1% during the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,007,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,200,350,000 after buying an additional 2,288,397 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in AON during the first quarter worth about $505,108,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in AON during the first quarter worth about $490,634,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in AON by 18.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,034,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,864,000 after buying an additional 469,238 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in AON by 276.0% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 460,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,456,000 after buying an additional 338,373 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $343.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $323.73 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The firm has a market cap of $74.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $360.63.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%.The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AON. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AON from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded AON to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AON from $421.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on AON from $436.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $451.00 to $448.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.00.

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.