Aviva PLC Grows Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Aviva PLC grew its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,850 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.12% of AON worth $91,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $596,665,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of AON by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $742,582,000 after purchasing an additional 960,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AON by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,773,165,000 after purchasing an additional 627,742 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 43,000.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 390,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,404,000 after purchasing an additional 390,017 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in AON by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,564,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $921,182,000 after buying an additional 343,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock opened at $375.94 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $391.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Evercore ISI raised AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

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.