Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 14,996 Shares of Aon plc $AON

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,996 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in AON were worth $35,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in AON by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,155,981,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AON. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AON from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on AON from $445.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AON from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.12.

AON News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aon director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares for approximately $6.55 million, increasing his direct holdings by nearly 14%. The sizable insider purchase may signal confidence that the recent weakness has created attractive value. Aon director stock purchase filing
• Positive Sentiment: Aon executives highlighted strong demand for insurance-linked securities and expect continued growth through year-end and into 2027. A more flexible reinsurance market, supported by approximately $800 billion of capital, could increase transaction activity and benefit Aon’s brokerage and advisory operations. Strong ILS demand and continued growth expected
• Positive Sentiment: The company urged insurers to use record reinsurance capacity and third-party capital to support growth, reinforcing the potential for expanding demand for Aon’s capital-markets and risk-transfer services. Aon urges insurers to use reinsurance and third-party capital
• Positive Sentiment: Aon launched a defined-benefit pension “run-on” solution aimed at smaller schemes, broadening its retirement-services offering and potentially creating additional recurring consulting revenue. Aon launches run-on solution
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Executive Greg Case will speak at the KBW Insurance Conference on September 10, giving investors a potential catalyst for updates on the USI transaction, organic growth and capital allocation. Aon to speak at the KBW Insurance Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis of Aon’s planned $17 billion USI acquisition questioned whether roughly $395 million in expected synergies will adequately offset the risks of another debt-funded megadeal. Leverage and integration concerns may be weighing on valuation. Analysis of Aon’s USI acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target while maintaining an outperform rating, adding near-term pressure amid broader uncertainty over valuation and the acquisition’s financing. This caution contrasts with the more bullish view from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Mizuho forecast for AON

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $322.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Aon plc has a 12 month low of $304.59 and a 12 month high of $382.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $353.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $334.15.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.98 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.08%.

AON Company Profile

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.