Royal Bank of Canada Lowers AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target to $315.00

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price target cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $325.00 to $315.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen started coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an outperform rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $329.69.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $281.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. AON has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $347.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $316.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.67.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AON will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,690,098. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of AON stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AON by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors boosted its position in shares of AON by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 48,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,095,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. acquired a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter worth about $27,031,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 6.6% in the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 22,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,542,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Finally, James Hambro & Partners increased its position in shares of AON by 6.9% in the first quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 239,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,869,000 after acquiring an additional 15,495 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.