Insider Selling: AON (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Sells $216,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Aon General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares on July 7 at an average price of $360 each, totaling $216,000. After the sale, he still owned 15,354 shares, a 3.76% reduction in his stake.
• AON shares were trading around $355.20 at the time of the report, below the recent sale price, with the stock up near its 52-week range after trading between $304.59 and $381.00 over the past year.
• Analysts remain constructive on Aon, with 13 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $402.19. The company also recently beat quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $0.82 per share, up from $0.74.

Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON stock traded down $2.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $355.20. 597,940 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,504,362. Aon plc has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $381.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $330.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.37 by $0.11. AON had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 43.50%. 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 prior year, the business earned $5.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 19.09 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,305,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 1,640.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 143,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,519,000 after buying an additional 134,937 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 333,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,669,000 after buying an additional 6,622 shares during the period. TABR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter worth about $1,278,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AON by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,251,000 after acquiring an additional 6,509 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $409.00 to $406.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, March 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $402.19.

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.

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