Cantillon Capital Management LLC Sells 147,444 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management reduced its Aon stake by 11.9% in the first quarter, selling 147,444 shares and leaving it with 1,095,574 shares valued at about $353.6 million.
• Aon has continued to draw mostly positive Wall Street attention, with analysts issuing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $404.56. Recent firms including UBS, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, KBW, and JPMorgan adjusted their targets, mostly upward or near current levels.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, payable August 14, for an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,095,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 147,444 shares during the period. AON comprises approximately 2.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.51% of AON worth $353,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. City National Bank of Florida MSD increased its position in shares of AON by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in AON by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in AON by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AON from $360.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $404.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,527,440. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $366.69 on Monday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $381.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $332.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $78.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.71.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. AON's payout ratio is 18.00%.

AON Profile

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.

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