Darren Zeidel Sells 1,950 Shares of AON (NYSE:AON) Stock

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,986,958.20. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, July 7th, Darren Zeidel sold 600 shares of AON stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $216,000.00.

AON Stock Performance

AON traded up $12.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $379.64. The company had a trading volume of 468,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,101. Aon plc has a 12-month low of $304.59 and a 12-month high of $382.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $337.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $331.37. The stock has a market cap of $81.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. AON had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 22.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given 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 is Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AON shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AON from $372.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AON from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on AON from $416.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on AON from $360.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on AON from $404.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AON by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,171,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,117,960,000 after purchasing an additional 191,658 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in AON by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,323,850,000 after buying an additional 176,207 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AON by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.