Darren Zeidel Sells 5,040 Shares of AON (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

AON Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AON stock opened at $325.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $69.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $341.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.70. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in AON by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the second quarter worth about $1,152,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 2.1% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 47,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,112,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. BTS Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AON in the second quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in AON by 449.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 4,584 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AON. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 target price on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $409.75.

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.