Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,192 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $24,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in AON by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 854,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,012,000 after acquiring an additional 11,475 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 104,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,293,000 after purchasing an additional 15,495 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON traded up $6.24 on Friday, reaching $375.26. 1,759,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,721. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $390.58 and a 200-day moving average of $374.56. The firm has a market cap of $81.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.82.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. AON's dividend payout ratio is 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AON from $396.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $407.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $393.87.

AON 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.