First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Makes New Investment in Aon plc $AON

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 28,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of AON by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,526,000 after buying an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in AON by 16.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,857,000 after buying an additional 222,092 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in AON by 23.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,103,000 after acquiring an additional 285,549 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in AON by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,709,000 after acquiring an additional 213,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in AON by 74.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,391,000 after acquiring an additional 340,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AON. Roth Capital set a $380.00 target price on shares of AON and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AON from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $383.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $423.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.59.

Key Stories Impacting AON

Here are the key news stories impacting AON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Ukraine insurance facility: Aon and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development increased the Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility from €110 million to €150 million. The program has supported more than €500 million of reinsurance coverage across nearly 10,000 policies, while adding insurers UNIVERSALNA and USG. The expansion strengthens Aon’s role in Ukraine’s reconstruction and could support longer-term insurance and reinsurance activity. Aon and EBRD expand war risk insurance facility for Ukraine
• Positive Sentiment: Potentially easing medical-cost pressure: Aon projects Asia-Pacific medical-cost inflation will slow to 9.7%, which could improve affordability for employers and support demand for employee-benefits consulting and risk-management solutions. Aon projects Asia Pacific medical cost inflation slowing
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change: Aon appointed Leonora Siccardi as global chief execution officer for Risk Capital and Human Capital, a newly created role focused on coordinating execution across major businesses. The move may improve operating alignment, but no immediate financial impact was disclosed. Aon names Siccardi to new global execution role
• Neutral Sentiment: Captive-market opportunity: Aon highlighted the growing use of insurance captives as platforms for attracting third-party capital, while rising medical costs are driving expansion in employee-benefits captives. The developments point to strategic growth opportunities but provide limited near-term earnings visibility. Medical cost pressure drives Aon’s EB captive expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analyst target cuts: Morgan Stanley lowered its target to $350, Wells Fargo reduced its target to $323, Evercore cut its target from $423 to $375, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its target from $417 to $342, although KBW retained an “outperform” rating. The revisions reinforce concerns about Aon’s valuation and growth outlook, despite the targets remaining above the current share price. Evercore cuts target for Aon stock

AON Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE AON opened at $274.82 on Wednesday. Aon plc has a twelve month low of $266.33 and a twelve month high of $382.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $315.32 and its 200 day moving average is $326.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.70.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.08%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 13,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,986,958.20. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AON Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.