AON (NYSE:AON) Trading Up 6.3%

Aon plc (NYSE:AON)’s stock price was up 6.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $321.51 and last traded at $317.64. Approximately 750,065 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 1,282,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $311.00 price target on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AON from $289.00 to $287.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.36.

AON Trading Up 7.5 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.41. The company has a market cap of $69.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by ($0.16). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aon plc will post 15.41 EPS for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 139,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,448,790. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AON

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in AON by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its position in AON by 43.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in AON in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,321,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in AON by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 59,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in AON by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.