Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Short Interest Update

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a decrease of 11.6% from the August 15th total of 1,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 788,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, Director Byron Spruell acquired 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $324.57 per share, with a total value of $259,656.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,604.57. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON during the second quarter worth $25,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in AON by 211.4% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.45% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Up 1.1 %

AON stock traded up $3.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $339.89. The stock had a trading volume of 166,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. AON has a fifty-two week low of $266.35 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.90.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. AON had a net margin of 20.78% and a negative return on equity of 1,312.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AON will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.615 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 31st. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AON’s payout ratio is 19.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AON shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AON from $322.00 to $351.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com started coverage on AON in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $341.55.

About AON

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health 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.