Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 12,702 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 440,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,702 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of AON worth $121,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AON. Downshift Financial LLC increased its stake in AON by 15,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth $60,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth $61,000. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in AON by 23,400.0% in the third quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark Wealth Partners grew its holdings in AON by 2,200.0% in the third quarter. Clark Wealth Partners now owns 253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about AON

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded Aon to “Market Perform” from “Underperform,” removing a prior bearish stance and signaling that the stock’s risk/reward profile has improved. Raymond James upgrades Aon to market perform from underperform
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $364 from $323 and assigned an “Overweight” rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its target to $410 from $400 and maintained an “Overweight” rating. These calls imply meaningful upside and support investor confidence in Aon’s earnings and valuation. Wells Fargo analyst recommendation Cantor Fitzgerald analyst recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Aon highlighted data centers and managing general agents (MGAs) as growth opportunities. These areas could expand demand for specialty insurance and risk-management services, providing potential longer-term revenue growth. Aon’s Hofmann: Data centers and MGAs offer new avenues for growth
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target to $356 from $387 and kept a “Neutral” rating. Although the revised target remains above the recent trading level, the cut indicates more limited upside in UBS’s view. UBS Group analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Aon’s quarterly dividend reached its record date at $0.820 per share, reinforcing the company’s shareholder-return profile, though the payment is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings expectations. Aon quarterly dividend record date
• Negative Sentiment: European windstorms Austen and Boelo are expected to produce hundreds of millions of dollars in insured losses. While this is primarily an industry event rather than a direct loss for Aon, elevated catastrophe activity could pressure insurance-market capacity and sentiment. European windstorms insured losses

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on AON from $387.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of AON from $387.00 to $356.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.53.

AON Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $333.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Aon plc has a 52-week low of $266.33 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.06. AON had a return on equity of 40.46% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.96%.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon’s human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.