Zions Bancorporation N.A. Raises Holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in AON were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AON. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AON by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,894,053,000 after buying an additional 64,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in AON by 2.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,552,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,685,183,000 after buying an additional 309,702 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in AON by 1.2% during the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,405,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,293,449,000 after buying an additional 52,099 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,041,623,000 after purchasing an additional 883,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,409,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $707,390,000 after purchasing an additional 49,161 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AON stock traded up $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $379.29. 1,539,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,179,644. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $389.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $358.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $82.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.91.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. AON's payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AON from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $377.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $359.19.

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.