AON (NYSE:AON) Raised to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AON (NYSE:AON) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Evercore ISI currently has $420.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $407.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AON from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $377.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.25.

AON Price Performance

AON opened at $352.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.93. AON has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $395.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $370.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $345.80.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth about $37,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AON during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.