USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 643,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,042 shares during the period. AON comprises about 1.7% of USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.30% of AON worth $231,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of AON by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $364.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $375.17. The stock has a market cap of $78.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $275.07 and a 1 year high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

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

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. AON’s payout ratio is presently 25.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AON to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.75.

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.