AON (NYSE:AON) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Aon plc (NYSE:AON)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $272.55 and last traded at $272.1480, with a volume of 92120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $277.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AON. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on AON from $445.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AON from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of AON in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $380.00 target price on AON in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.47.

AON Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day moving average of $330.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 18.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, with a total value of $6,549,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total transaction of $717,744.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at $1,155,981,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in AON by 396.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 546,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,756,000 after purchasing an additional 436,093 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in AON by 74.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 797,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,391,000 after purchasing an additional 340,866 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of AON by 136.1% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 547,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,835,000 after purchasing an additional 315,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of AON by 23.5% in the first 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, support workforce strategies and make informed decisions. Its principal activities include commercial risk brokerage, insurance and reinsurance consulting, retirement and investment advisory services, health and benefits consulting, and data- and analytics-based business solutions.

Aon serves businesses, governments, institutional investors and individuals across a broad range of industries and geographies.