AON (NYSE:AON) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of AON (NYSE:AON) in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $335.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AON. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a neutral rating and a $309.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of AON from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and reduced their price target for the company from $345.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of AON from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $330.21.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $323.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,251,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,254. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 4.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $297.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.73. AON has a fifty-two week low of $268.06 and a fifty-two week high of $344.68.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AON will post 15.31 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andy Weitz 8,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AON

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AON by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in AON by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank raised its position in AON by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 9,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,884,000 after buying an additional 5,227 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.