AON (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Sells $1,641,981.60 in Stock

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

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $324.20. 1,015,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,531,792. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.14. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $412.97.

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

AON Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AON. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in AON by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,387,773 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in AON by 40,219.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in AON during the fourth quarter valued at about $229,372,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $409.75.

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.