Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Aon PLC (AON)

Aon PLC (NYSE:AON) has experienced an increase in hedge fund interest recently.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can beat the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action regarding Aon PLC (NYSE:AON).

How have hedgies been trading Aon PLC (NYSE:AON)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 31 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 7% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management had the biggest position in Aon PLC (NYSE:AON), worth close to $1.2351 billion, comprising 5.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Boykin Curry of Eagle Capital Management, with a $904.1 million position; 5.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC and Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital.

As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have jumped into Aon PLC (NYSE:AON) headfirst. First Pacific Advisors LLC, managed by Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick, initiated the largest position in Aon PLC (NYSE:AON). First Pacific Advisors LLC had 423.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Charles de Vaulx’s International Value Advisers also initiated a $110.7 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Andrew Immerman and Jeremy Schiffman’s Palestra Capital Management, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

Insider trading activity in Aon PLC (NYSE:AON)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Aon PLC (NYSE:AON) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Aon PLC (NYSE:AON). These stocks are Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE), Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), Willis Group Holdings PLC (NYSE:WSH), and Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC). This group of stocks are the members of the insurance brokers industry and their market caps match AON’s market cap.