Verition Fund Management LLC Has $73.24 Million Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 207,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $73,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth about $4,305,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in AON by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,186,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,070,000. Warner Group LLC bought a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,341,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1,640.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 143,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,519,000 after buying an additional 134,937 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen 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, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.81.

AON Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $335.51 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $322.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.60. Aon plc has a one year low of $304.59 and a one year high of $381.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.67 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.