NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 2,025.0% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in AON by 1,162.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AON to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $393.87.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $367.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $389.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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.