Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management cut its stake in Aon by 19.5% in Q4, selling 5,508 shares to leave 22,809 shares worth about $8.05 million.
• Several large institutions aggressively added or initiated positions—Dodge & Cox ($1.235B), Norges Bank ($754.7M), Viking Global ($504.4M) and Balyasny (now 846,715 shares worth $301.9M)—and hedge funds own roughly 86.14% of Aon.
• Aon beat EPS estimates ($4.85 vs. $4.75) while revenue slightly missed, the company has a $67.16B market cap, pays a $0.745 quarterly dividend (≈1.0% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $406.69.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,508 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in AON were worth $8,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AON in the 2nd quarter worth about $754,671,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in AON by 40,219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,922,000 after buying an additional 844,615 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of AON by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,096,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $747,565,000 after acquiring an additional 615,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $313.48 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $329.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $343.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $402.49.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AON shares. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho upgraded AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $397.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $406.69.

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.

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.