AON (NYSE:AON) Given Buy Rating at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on AON and set a $435 price target, implying approximately 47% upside from the previous close.
• AON has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from analysts, with 12 Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating; the average price target is $397.47.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.81 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $3.80 consensus, while revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $4.25 billion.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $435.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 47.08% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on AON from $445.00 to $433.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AON from $419.00 to $383.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AON from $416.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AON from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.47.

AON Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $295.75 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $344.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. AON has a 52-week low of $293.00 and a 52-week high of $382.34. The stock has a market cap of $62.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.66.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. AON had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 42.13%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AON will post 18.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In related news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of AON by 396.0% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 546,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,756,000 after acquiring an additional 436,093 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 74.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 340,866 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in AON by 136.1% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 547,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $176,835,000 after purchasing an additional 315,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in AON by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $485,103,000 after buying an additional 285,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.

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