Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Ninety One SA Pty Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One SA Pty Ltd reduced its Aon holdings by 59.8% in the third quarter, selling 4,146 shares and retaining 2,785 shares valued at approximately $766,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of Aon’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.59. Aon’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded EPS estimates, while revenue rose 2.2% year over year.
• Aon shares recently rose 4.5% to $287.82, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd cut its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 59.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,146 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd's holdings in AON were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AON. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in AON by 258.3% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Downshift Financial LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 15,700.0% in the third quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on AON from $433.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Roth Capital set a $380.00 price objective on AON and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.59.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of AON traded up $12.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $287.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,009,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,677. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $266.33 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $326.52. The stock has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

AON 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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