Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,949,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 627,742 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.29% of AON worth $1,773,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in AON by 2,025.0% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $398.95 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $412.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market cap of $86.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $390.00 and a 200 day moving average of $373.11.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded AON from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $386.21.

AON Company Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.