Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives $386.21 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $386.21.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $390.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. AON has a 12-month low of $268.06 and a 12-month high of $395.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $366.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $360.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AON will post 17.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This trade represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AON. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $596,665,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $336,375,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in AON by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $742,582,000 after purchasing an additional 960,204 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its position in AON by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,623,000 after purchasing an additional 883,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in AON by 334.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,050,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,475,000 after purchasing an additional 808,990 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Company Profile

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.