Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases Shares of 26,272 Aon plc $AON

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 26,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AON from $406.00 to $419.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.06.

Key AON News

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 Stock Performance

Shares of AON opened at $360.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $341.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.94. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AON Company Profile

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.