Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors cut its Aon stake by 74.1% in the third quarter, leaving the firm with 1,272 shares valued at approximately $352,000. Institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of Aon.
• Aon exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $3.36 versus the $3.30 consensus and revenue of $4.10 billion, up 2.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.
• The planned USI acquisition offers potential for roughly $395 million in annual EBITDA synergies, but analysts and investors remain divided over integration, financing and execution risks. Aon shares opened at $321.75, while the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $367.59.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 74.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,644 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AON were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 5,225.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 194,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,713,000 after acquiring an additional 190,426 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $10,117,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 76,726.4% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 113,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,470,000 after purchasing an additional 113,555 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 4,903.4% in the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 29,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,775,000 after purchasing an additional 28,881 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in AON by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 106,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,282,000 after purchasing an additional 14,996 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly performance: Aon reported adjusted earnings of $3.36 per share, above the $3.30 analyst consensus, while revenue of $4.10 billion also exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 2.6% year over year, supported by 6% organic growth, wider margins and a 4% increase in net income. Aon Soars 5% on Third-Quarter Beat With 6% Organic Growth and Wider Margins
• Positive Sentiment: USI acquisition remains a catalyst: Aon expects its USI transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 and projects approximately $395 million in run-rate EBITDA synergies. Successful integration could strengthen earnings growth, although execution and financing remain important investor considerations. Aon expects USI deal to close in Q4 2026 and outlines $395M in EBITDA run-rate synergies
• Positive Sentiment: AI and agricultural-insurance opportunities: Aon and SAGE launched a U.S. precision crop-insurance program using field-level agricultural data and artificial intelligence to improve risk assessment and pricing. Aon also sees growing demand for insurance, risk engineering and capital solutions tied to AI infrastructure. Aon and SAGE Bring Field-Level Agricultural Intelligence to Crop Insurance
• Neutral Sentiment: Catastrophe losses were relatively moderate: Aon estimated global insured natural-catastrophe losses at $91 billion through the first nine months of 2026, the lowest level since 2019. The figure may reduce near-term concerns about insurance-market stress, but it also could limit demand for some catastrophe-related risk-transfer products. Global insured natural catastrophe losses reach $91bn in 9M’26, lowest since 2019: Aon
• Negative Sentiment: AI data-center risks could constrain growth: CEO Greg Case warned that concentrated equipment values, cyber threats and business interruptions potentially costing millions of dollars per minute could make AI data centers difficult to insure and complicate project financing. Aon CEO warns AI data center insurance risks could threaten financing
• Negative Sentiment: USI-related execution concerns: Bell Global Equities Fund exited its Aon position, citing financial and integration risks associated with the USI acquisition. This may weigh on sentiment despite the announced synergy potential. Bell Global Equities Fund Exits Aon After USI Acquisition Raises Financial and Execution Risks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AON from $383.00 to $323.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of AON from $360.00 to $286.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AON from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $367.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $321.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 4.72. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $266.33 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $302.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.08.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. AON had a return on equity of 40.46% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. AON's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

AON Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.