Markel Group Inc. Buys 4,250 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,250 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of AON worth $47,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AON by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.00.

AON Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AON stock opened at $324.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $321.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.36%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.