Dover Advisors LLC Takes $234,000 Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,894,053,000 after buying an additional 64,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of AON by 2.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,552,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,183,000 after acquiring an additional 309,702 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,405,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,449,000 after purchasing an additional 52,099 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in shares of AON by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,805,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $936,151,000 after purchasing an additional 127,173 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in AON by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,409,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,390,000 after purchasing an additional 49,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Barclays began coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $347.06.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $357.88. 1,175,786 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,185,848. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.92. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $363.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.22 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. AON’s payout ratio is currently 21.58%.

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.