Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $409.75.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of AON from $393.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on AON in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price target on AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AON by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,289,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,569,000 after purchasing an additional 511,292 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AON by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,229,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,291,048,000 after buying an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AON by 3.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,588,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,987,961,000 after buying an additional 173,722 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in AON by 5.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,715,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,818,000 after buying an additional 207,690 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,235,437,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE AON opened at $346.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. AON has a fifty-two week low of $323.73 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $347.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.03.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AON will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.745 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

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.