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

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $412.6250.

AON has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AON from $372.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AON from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AON from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on AON from $426.00 to $437.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $354.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.48. AON has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AON will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 18.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 89.0% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 14,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new position in AON during the second quarter worth about $334,000. Old Mission Investment Co LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the second quarter valued at about $300,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in AON by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in AON by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.