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

Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubic Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $1,050,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AON by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,058,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,727 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 262.7% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 177.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,372,000 after purchasing an additional 11,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 331,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $293.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $289.64 and a 200 day moving average of $302.59. The company has a market cap of $63.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. AON’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at $38,448,790. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America downgraded AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $311.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.86.

About AON

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.