Cetera Investment Advisers Decreases Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AON were worth $5,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AON by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,894,053,000 after acquiring an additional 64,500 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of AON by 2.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,552,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,183,000 after buying an additional 309,702 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of AON by 1.2% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,405,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,449,000 after buying an additional 52,099 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its position in shares of AON by 4.7% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,805,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $936,151,000 after buying an additional 127,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.1% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,409,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,390,000 after buying an additional 49,161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:AON opened at $353.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $340.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $355.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. AON’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $337.14.

AON 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.