Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 40.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in AON by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,770,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,922,000 after purchasing an additional 844,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $229,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $327.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $322.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.65. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $381.00. The company has a market cap of $69.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AON. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of AON from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of AON from $416.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.94.

AON Company 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.