AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target Lowered to $402.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut AON's price target to $402 (from $443) but kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 23.2% upside
• Shares traded around $326.29 (market cap ~$69.9B), sitting below analyst targets and near the 50-day moving average of $327.24 versus the 200-day at $341.04.
• AON beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.85 vs $4.75) but missed revenue expectations, and insiders disclosed both a sale by the General Counsel and a purchase by a director; institutional investors hold roughly 86% of the stock.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $443.00 to $402.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.20% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of AON from $381.00 to $372.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $398.00 to $397.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AON from $402.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $397.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $402.63.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON traded down $3.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $326.29. The stock had a trading volume of 71,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,116. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $327.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. AON has a 1 year low of $304.59 and a 1 year high of $387.69.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total transaction of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. The trade was a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,651,320. The trade was a 2.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in AON during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Stance Capital LLC raised its position in AON by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in AON by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 76,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,986,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of AON by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 190,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,700,000 after buying an additional 16,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.

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