Aon plc (NYSE:AON – Get Free Report)’s stock price dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $304.00 to $295.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. AON traded as low as $288.89 and last traded at $289.24. Approximately 478,778 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 836,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.12.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded AON from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $328.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on AON in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $361.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AON from $340.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AON from $352.00 to $342.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on AON from $331.00 to $339.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.67.
Institutional Trading of AON
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AON in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
AON Trading Down 2.1 %
The company has a market capitalization of $57.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $323.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $327.24.
AON (NYSE:AON – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.11. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,685.76% and a net margin of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.
AON Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 1st were paid a $0.615 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. AON’s payout ratio is 18.71%.
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.