AON (NYSE:AON) Downgraded by Wolfe Research to Strong Sell

Wolfe Research cut shares of AON (NYSE:AON) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Friday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AON from $412.00 to $417.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on AON from $437.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on AON from $445.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.12.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $303.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. AON has a fifty-two week low of $302.44 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $333.70. The company has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.66.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AON will post 18.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is 18.08%.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.05, for a total transaction of $725,497.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 13,404 shares in the company, valued at $4,986,958.20. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester Knight bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in AON by 32,835.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 101,761,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,753,381,000 after acquiring an additional 101,452,856 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of AON by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,323,850,000 after buying an additional 176,207 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AON by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,291,048,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in AON by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,770,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,387,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,141,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,810,726,000 after acquiring an additional 28,066 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 helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.