Farallon Capital Management LLC Has $550.52 Million Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 196.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,875,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,243,200 shares during the quarter. AON makes up 2.6% of Farallon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.86% of AON worth $550,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AON. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the first quarter valued at about $258,471,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in AON by 37.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,000,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $587,445,000 after acquiring an additional 548,563 shares during the last quarter. Stone Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $151,808,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AON by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,943,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,663,000 after purchasing an additional 471,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,327,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $348.52 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $353.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 15.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. AON’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays began coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.27.

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.