Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $334.69.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on AON from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

AON Stock Up 0.5 %

AON stock opened at $310.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.86. AON has a twelve month low of $284.85 and a twelve month high of $347.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.84.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AON will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.63%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total value of $12,582,979.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,991,685.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last quarter. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of AON by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,524,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,519,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,390,000 after acquiring an additional 50,290 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AON by 106,777.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $845,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814,643 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,406,000 after purchasing an additional 179,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares in the last quarter. 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.