Caprock Group LLC Increases Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 39.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in AON by 262.7% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AON by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 9,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 4,854 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AON by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in AON by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 765,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,777,000 after buying an additional 5,770 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $351.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.54. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $352.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.27.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.