AON (NYSE:AON) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AON (NYSE:AON) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on AON from $437.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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 target price on AON from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.12.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $322.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.24. AON has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AON will post 18.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 163,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares in the company, valued at $4,986,958.20. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in AON by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in shares of AON by 80.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 73,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,266,000 after buying an additional 32,505 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the second quarter worth approximately $108,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its stake in shares of AON by 4,903.4% during the 2nd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 29,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 28,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in AON by 32,835.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 101,761,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,753,381,000 after acquiring an additional 101,452,856 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

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.