AON (NYSE:AON) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

AON (NYSE:AON) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

AON has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on AON from $366.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Roth Capital set a $380.00 target price on AON and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AON from $417.00 to $342.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AON from $375.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, August 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $367.59.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $303.15 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $303.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $326.56. AON has a twelve month low of $266.33 and a twelve month high of $382.34.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AON will post 18.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, Director Lester Knight purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,379,240. The trade was a 13.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in AON by 11,179.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,026,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990,441 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in AON by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,857,000 after buying an additional 222,092 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of AON by 23.5% in 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AON by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,253,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,709,000 after buying an additional 213,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of AON by 419.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 836,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,638,000 after buying an additional 675,919 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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, make informed decisions and improve workforce outcomes. Its services span commercial risk, health, retirement and investments, and data and analytics.

The company provides insurance brokerage and risk-management services, including coverage placement, claims support, risk transfer and consulting. Through its reinsurance business, Aon also serves insurers and other organizations seeking to manage catastrophe, capital and underwriting risks.

Aon’s human capital offerings include employee benefits consulting, retirement advisory services, talent and compensation consulting, and health and workforce solutions.