Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $321.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, June 18th.

Insider Activity at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at $38,448,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AON. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 40,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,033,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,611,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 293,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,065,000 after buying an additional 65,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,486,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $294.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.09. AON has a 52-week low of $268.06 and a 52-week high of $344.68.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Analysts predict that AON will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.16%.

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.