Darren Zeidel Sells 1,900 Shares of AON (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Darren Zeidel also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, July 17th, Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of AON stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of AON stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $360.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $341.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.07. The firm has a market cap of $77.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 19.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.08%.

More AON News

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aon reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.81 per share, narrowly above the $3.80 consensus and up from $3.49 a year earlier. Organic revenue growth reached 5%, while operating margins expanded and management reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Aon Q2 results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Growth in reinsurance and property-and-casualty businesses, combined with a record pace of share repurchases, strengthened the company’s capital-return story. Aon also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share. Aon buyback and Q2 growth
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $435 from $420 with a Buy rating, and Wells Fargo increased its target to $419 from $406 with an Overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in Aon’s longer-term earnings outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $4.25 billion but missed the $4.28 billion estimate. Higher expenses and lower interest income limited the benefit from organic growth and acquisitions, leaving investors focused on whether revenue growth can accelerate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon said severe weather across the U.S. Midwest—including wind, hail and tornadoes—could rank among the top 10 costliest severe-weather events. The company also expects losses from the July Japan earthquake to be below those from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake; these developments highlight insurance-market activity but have limited direct earnings impact for Aon.
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares for approximately $718,000, following additional sales earlier in July. Although he retains a sizable position, the repeated insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Aon insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: WTW reported faster growth in its broking arm than Aon, Marsh and Gallagher, underscoring competitive pressure in Aon’s core brokerage market. WTW broking growth comparison

Institutional Trading of AON

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in AON by 126.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of AON during the fourth quarter worth about $229,372,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AON. Mizuho boosted their price target on AON from $389.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AON from $377.00 to $391.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.06.

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.