Royal Bank of Canada Cuts AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target to $315.00

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $325.00 to $315.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AON has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AON from $326.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an outperform rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $329.69.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $283.55 on Monday. AON has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The company has a market cap of $61.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.15.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AON will post 15.64 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,690,098. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last quarter. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of AON by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,524,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,519,000 after purchasing an additional 22,346 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,479,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,452,390,000 after buying an additional 50,290 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,331,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $678,406,000 after acquiring an additional 179,238 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of AON by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,244,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,844,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in AON by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,523,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,094,000 after purchasing an additional 55,703 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.