Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 4,122 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 43.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in AON were worth $4,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust bought a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth $203,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the second quarter worth $424,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in AON by 25.1% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in AON by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 25,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,557,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $380.00 in a report 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.27.

AON Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of AON stock opened at $347.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $353.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $330.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. AON’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.23 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

About AON

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.