Fayez Sarofim & Co Invests $5.91 Million in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Fayez Sarofim & Co bought a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,905,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of AON by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 122,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,122,000 after acquiring an additional 16,399 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after buying an additional 3,909 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in AON by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 56,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,433,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in AON by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 9,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:AON opened at $367.08 on Monday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The company 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $375.67.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic raised AON to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Redburn Partners set a $445.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $393.87.

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.