Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Ninety One North America Inc.

Key Points

• Ninety One North America cut its Aon stake by 43% in the third quarter, selling 46,705 shares and retaining 61,934 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of Aon.
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares for about $6.5 million, while General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares for roughly $725,500.
• Aon shares recently traded at $288.02, near the lower end of their 12-month range. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $367.59, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.

Ninety One North America Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,705 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.'s holdings in AON were worth $17,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter worth $60,000. Triangle Securities Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth $297,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in AON by 350.9% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 12,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 9,864 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in AON by 17,600.0% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in AON by 382.2% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 23,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,610,000 after purchasing an additional 18,929 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester Knight bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 13,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,986,958.20. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded up $12.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $288.02. 976,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. The firm has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $313.65 and a 200 day moving average of $326.52. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $266.33 and a 12 month high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AON from $383.00 to $323.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of AON from $360.00 to $286.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.59.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.

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