AON (NYSE:AON) Raised to "Overweight" at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded AON from an "equal weight" to an "overweight" rating, raising its price target from $385.00 to $430.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.74% from the previous close.
• AON's Q2 earnings per share of $3.49 surpassed consensus estimates, reflecting a 10.5% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Overall, there is a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts for AON, with most ratings classified as Buy and a significant percentage of shares held by institutional investors.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $430.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $385.00. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AON. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $438.00 price target (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.50.

AON Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $362.14 on Thursday. AON has a 52 week low of $323.73 and a 52 week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company's fifty day moving average is $363.21 and its 200-day moving average is $368.87. The company has a market capitalization of $78.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. AON had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 50.91%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AON

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AON by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.