AON (NYSE:AON) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Aon plc (NYSE:AON)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $299.00 and last traded at $301.7150, with a volume of 100442 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $304.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AON. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AON from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on AON from $412.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.47.

AON Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $348.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.63.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 18.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 18.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lester Knight acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AON by 10.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of AON by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 484,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,834,000 after purchasing an additional 9,349 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of AON by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,748,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 3.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in AON by 183.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.