Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 87,799 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 128.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 156,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,799 shares during the period. AON accounts for about 0.5% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $55,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AON by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,117,960,000 after acquiring an additional 191,658 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AON by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,235,437,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 12.0% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,330,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $830,945,000 after acquiring an additional 249,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON opened at $318.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $321.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $334.28. 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 plc has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $381.00. The company has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $389.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $443.00 to $402.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.81.

About AON

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.