Dockside LLC Acquires New Shares in Aon plc $AON

Dockside LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,000. AON accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dockside LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in AON by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,770,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in AON by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,565,000 after acquiring an additional 615,570 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AON. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AON from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.81.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $335.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $322.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.68. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $381.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.36%.

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.