Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,865 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.19% of AON worth $123,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the first quarter worth about $37,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $309.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $311.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $330.21.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $332.05. 618,468 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,403. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $268.06 and a twelve month high of $344.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.08 and a 200-day moving average of $305.28. The firm has a market cap of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.