Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Reduces Position in Aon plc $AON

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 62.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,371 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AON were worth $2,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AON by 28.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after buying an additional 3,253 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of AON by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,992,000 after acquiring an additional 8,216 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,249,000 after acquiring an additional 76,061 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AON by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of AON by 46.1% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,286,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of AON stock opened at $367.27 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $78.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $328.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.86. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AON from $372.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AON from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.19.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,527,440. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.