Raymond James & Associates Has $74.50 Million Position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 215,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in AON were worth $74,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth $31,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 1st quarter worth about $55,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in AON in the first quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AON stock opened at $357.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $346.51 and a 200-day moving average of $315.44. The firm has a market cap of $77.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $363.46.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.08 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 15.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AON shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.06.

AON 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.