AON (NYSE:AON) Hits New 1-Year Low on Disappointing Earnings

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $268.06 and last traded at $277.16, with a volume of 730889 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $306.00.

The financial services provider reported $5.66 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 negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AON has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.69.

Insider Activity at AON

In related news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last ninety days. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AON. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at $423,030,000. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of AON by 410.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 654,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,184,000 after purchasing an additional 526,353 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of AON by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 950,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,514,000 after purchasing an additional 290,936 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 401.6% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 344,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,097,000 after purchasing an additional 276,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AON by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,030,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,802,000 after purchasing an additional 273,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Down 6.9 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $317.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.06. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86.

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.