AON (NYSE:AON) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.20 EPS

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20), Briefing.com reports. AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. AON's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $20.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $285.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,566,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,672. The company has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $317.11 and a 200 day moving average of $314.06. AON has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $347.37.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from AON's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AON's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AON shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $334.69.

About AON

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.