Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Position Lessened by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. cut its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 18.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,744 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of AON worth $44,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,661,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,894,053,000 after acquiring an additional 64,500 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of AON by 2.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,552,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,685,183,000 after purchasing an additional 309,702 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AON by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,405,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,293,449,000 after purchasing an additional 52,099 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of AON by 4.7% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,805,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $936,151,000 after buying an additional 127,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in AON by 2.1% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,409,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $707,390,000 after buying an additional 49,161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AON traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $366.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,032,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,179,845. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $268.06 and a twelve month high of $389.21. The company has a market capitalization of $79.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.89.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. AON's payout ratio is 22.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AON from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AON from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $377.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $355.75.

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.