Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Aon plc (NYSE:AON) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 15 research firms, with a 12-month price target averaging $412.69.
• Institutional investors hold 86.14% of Aon's shares, with significant increases in holdings from firms such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
• Aon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.745 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 24.96%.

Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $412.6875.

A number of research firms have weighed in on AON. Citigroup began coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AON from $411.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $401.00) on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "cautious" rating on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 18th.

AON Stock Up 0.6%

AON traded up $2.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $374.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,171,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. AON has a 1-year low of $323.73 and a 1-year high of $412.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $361.45 and a 200-day moving average of $369.63. The company has a market cap of $80.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.745 per share. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 318.1% in the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,007,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,200,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288,397 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at about $754,671,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter worth approximately $505,108,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in AON during the first quarter valued at approximately $490,634,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 56,460.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 761,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,052,000 after acquiring an additional 760,516 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Company Profile

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.