64,120 Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• PineStone Asset Management reduced its Aon stake by 8%, selling 64,120 shares in the third quarter and retaining 735,173 shares valued at approximately $203.5 million. Institutional investors own 86.14% of AON.
• Aon’s recent business developments include winning a sole-broker role for Zurich’s marine and energy reinsurance account and expanding Ukraine war-risk reinsurance support, potentially strengthening its specialty-risk franchise.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish but have lowered price targets; AON has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $367.59 target, while shares recently opened at $292.28. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, yielding about 1.1% annually.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 64,120 shares during the period. AON comprises 1.3% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned 0.35% of AON worth $203,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AON. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of AON by 5.3% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Aspen Grove Capital LLC grew its position in AON by 4.8% during the first quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 6.2% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network increased its stake in AON by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AON by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting AON

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aon secured the sole-broker role for Zurich’s marine and energy excess-of-loss reinsurance account, a business win that could support brokerage revenue and reinforce Aon’s position in specialty risk markets. Aon wins sole broker position on Zurich marine and energy XoL account
• Positive Sentiment: Aon and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expanded support for Ukraine war-risk reinsurance. The initiative could create additional specialty-risk opportunities and highlights Aon’s role in rebuilding insurance capacity in Ukraine. Aon, EBRD expand Ukraine war risk reinsurance
• Positive Sentiment: Aon promoted Chris Rafferty to chief integration officer for its Investment Management and Outsourcing business, while also appointing a Chicago leader. The moves may support integration and execution, although they are not immediate earnings catalysts. Aon promotes Chris Rafferty
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon appointed Leonora Siccardi as global chief execution officer for Risk Capital and Human Capital, effective October 14, adding a senior leadership change without clear near-term financial implications. Aon appoints Leonora Siccardi
• Neutral Sentiment: Preview coverage ahead of Aon’s next quarterly report focuses on expectations for results. Investors will likely watch organic growth, margins, retention and guidance following the company’s prior quarter of modest revenue growth. What to expect from Aon's next quarterly earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reduced its AON price target to $350, following Cantor Fitzgerald’s cut to $400 from $433. Although both targets remain above the current share level, the reductions signal more cautious expectations for valuation or growth. Morgan Stanley cuts Aon price target

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on AON from $387.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore reduced their target price on AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on AON from $433.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded AON from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.59.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $292.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $310.87 and a 200-day moving average of $326.09. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.33 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $62.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon's human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.

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