Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 119,626 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 36.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 444,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,626 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AON were worth $132,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 262.7% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AON by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 68,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 0.4 %

AON stock opened at $348.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $331.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.58. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $353.54. 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 (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.23 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.27.

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.