Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Acquires 429 Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in AON by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $353.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America cut shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.27.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $350.49 on Tuesday. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $351.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.28. 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 (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

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.