Darren Zeidel Sells 600 Shares of AON (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,527,440. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

AON Stock Down 0.6%

AON stock traded down $2.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $355.20. 597,940 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,504,362. The company has a market capitalization of $75.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.73. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $381.00.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AON from $406.00 to $396.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AON from $360.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in AON by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD increased its stake in AON by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.