AON (NYSE:AON) Reaches New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $367.50 and last traded at $367.50, with a volume of 1402 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $356.85.

The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. AON’s payout ratio is 21.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AON from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $349.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in AON by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in AON by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in AON by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in shares of AON by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 17,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AON by 19.4% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $349.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market cap of $81.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.