Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 579 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,519,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,010,714,000 after acquiring an additional 88,361 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AON by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,773,165,000 after acquiring an additional 627,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of AON by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,564,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $921,182,000 after acquiring an additional 343,592 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,329,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,498,000 after purchasing an additional 64,720 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,123,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,796,000 after purchasing an additional 86,148 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $356.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $388.90 and a 200-day moving average of $375.73. The firm has a market cap of $76.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $412.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $394.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on AON from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $393.87.

AON Company 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.