It looks like Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 2 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Thus, you can purchase Aon's shares before the 1st of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.745 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.98 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Aon has a trailing yield of 0.8% on the current share price of US$369.16. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Aon has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Aon has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 23% of its income after tax.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Check out our latest analysis for Aon

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. For this reason, we're glad to see Aon's earnings per share have risen 13% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Aon has delivered an average of 12% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

Final Takeaway

Should investors buy Aon for the upcoming dividend? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Aon ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.

So while Aon looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Aon that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.