Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s 4th Largest Position

Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,409,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,161 shares during the quarter. AON makes up about 6.5% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned 1.11% of AON worth $707,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in AON in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in AON during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AON from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.27.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $347.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $330.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.39. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $353.54. The firm has a market cap of $75.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

AON Profile

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.