AON (NYSE:AON) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.20 EPS

AON (NYSE:AON) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

AON Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE AON traded down $20.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $285.03. 4,566,608 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,672. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $317.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. AON has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $347.37.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s payout ratio is 19.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AON. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.69.

Insider Activity at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.