Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives $334.69 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $334.69.

Several research analysts have issued reports on AON shares. TD Cowen started coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 over the last three months. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AON. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 25,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,232,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in AON by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in AON by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in AON by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AON by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Price Performance

Shares of AON stock opened at $311.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. AON has a one year low of $284.85 and a one year high of $347.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $317.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.64.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.18). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.71%.

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.