NorthRock Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 274.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AON. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in AON by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of AON by 373.4% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in AON by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $352.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $374.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $375.22. The stock has a market cap of $76.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $275.07 and a 52-week high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.04 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $384.00 to $378.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.75.

About AON

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.