Empowered Funds LLC Buys 3,892 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AON were worth $7,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 28.4% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of AON by 9.1% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 98,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,992,000 after acquiring an additional 8,216 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of AON by 35.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 292,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,249,000 after purchasing an additional 76,061 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 27.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,286,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 13,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,986,958.20. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AON News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aon reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.81 per share, narrowly above the $3.80 consensus and up from $3.49 a year earlier. Organic revenue growth reached 5%, while operating margins expanded and management reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Aon Q2 results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Growth in reinsurance and property-and-casualty businesses, combined with a record pace of share repurchases, strengthened the company’s capital-return story. Aon also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share. Aon buyback and Q2 growth
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $435 from $420 with a Buy rating, and Wells Fargo increased its target to $419 from $406 with an Overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in Aon’s longer-term earnings outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $4.25 billion but missed the $4.28 billion estimate. Higher expenses and lower interest income limited the benefit from organic growth and acquisitions, leaving investors focused on whether revenue growth can accelerate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon said severe weather across the U.S. Midwest—including wind, hail and tornadoes—could rank among the top 10 costliest severe-weather events. The company also expects losses from the July Japan earthquake to be below those from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake; these developments highlight insurance-market activity but have limited direct earnings impact for Aon.
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares for approximately $718,000, following additional sales earlier in July. Although he retains a sizable position, the repeated insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Aon insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: WTW reported faster growth in its broking arm than Aon, Marsh and Gallagher, underscoring competitive pressure in Aon’s core brokerage market. WTW broking growth comparison

AON Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AON stock opened at $360.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.07. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $382.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Friday, July 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.06.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.