AON (NYSE:AON) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $396.15 and last traded at $392.14, with a volume of 1280275 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $389.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AON. Barclays boosted their price target on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $386.21.

AON Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $369.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $362.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a return on equity of 70.84% and a net margin of 16.91%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other AON news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter worth about $336,375,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of AON by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 26,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,530,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AON by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,844,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,059,977,000 after buying an additional 32,417 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in AON by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 165,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,345,000 after acquiring an additional 20,084 shares during the period. Finally, Retireful LLC acquired a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter worth $759,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.