Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $386.21.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AON from $411.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON traded down $3.07 on Friday, reaching $387.22. 740,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $83.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. AON has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $395.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $359.79.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AON will post 17.24 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. AON's payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total value of $256,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AON by 1,162.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in AON in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.