Veritas Asset Management LLP Trims Position in Aon plc $AON

Key Points

• Veritas Asset Management reduced its Aon position by 7.4% in the second quarter, selling 112,166 shares and retaining 1.41 million shares valued at approximately $467.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of Aon.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.12, despite mixed recent actions including a downgrade to “sell” and reduced price targets.
• Aon shares recently fell 2.2% to $316.08. The company narrowly exceeded quarterly EPS estimates at $3.81, while revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $4.25 billion; it also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.

Veritas Asset Management LLP lowered its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,408,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 112,166 shares during the period. AON comprises 8.7% of Veritas Asset Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned about 0.66% of AON worth $467,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in AON by 32,835.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 101,761,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,753,381,000 after purchasing an additional 101,452,856 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of AON by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,770,975,000 after buying an additional 4,387,773 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at $504,424,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in AON by 40,219.8% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AON. Wall Street Zen lowered AON from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $412.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Roth Capital set a $380.00 price target on AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $399.12.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AON Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of AON traded down $7.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $316.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,926,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,339. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.17. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $382.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $67.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.66.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 18.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. AON's payout ratio is currently 18.08%.

AON Company 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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