Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in AON were worth $9,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AON. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of AON by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.2%

AON opened at $371.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $364.26 and its 200-day moving average is $373.84. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $283.27 and a 52-week 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.04 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AON to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of AON from $420.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of AON from $414.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AON from $430.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $384.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.27.

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.