AON (NYSE:AON) Stock Rating Upgraded by Mizuho

AON (NYSE:AON) was upgraded by investment analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $397.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $408.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.94.

AON Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of AON stock opened at $330.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.83. AON has a 52-week low of $304.59 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $339.57 and its 200 day moving average is $349.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AON will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AON by 12.1% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in AON by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of AON by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of AON by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Company Profile

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.