Veritas Asset Management LLP Lowers Stock Position in Aon plc $AON

Veritas Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 7.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,408,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 112,166 shares during the quarter. AON accounts for about 8.7% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in AON were worth $467,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in AON by 61.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AON by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 56,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,734,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AON by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of AON by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in AON by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 73,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,266,000 after acquiring an additional 32,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AON. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AON from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AON from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AON from $419.00 to $383.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Roth Capital set a $380.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.12.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock traded down $7.01 on Tuesday, reaching $316.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,926,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,339. The business’s 50 day moving average is $353.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $334.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $382.34. The company has a market cap of $67.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.66.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.99 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.