Insider Selling: AON (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Sells 5,040 Shares of Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

AON Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AON stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $324.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,015,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,792. The company has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.14. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $304.59 and a 52 week high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of AON by 126.6% in 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 purchased a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of AON by 40,219.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of AON during the 4th quarter worth $229,372,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.