AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target Lowered to $401.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $416.00 to $401.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 24.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AON from $448.00 to $443.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $405.75.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON traded down $5.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.02. 403,726 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,529. AON has a twelve month low of $304.59 and a twelve month high of $387.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $327.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.31.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. AON had a return on equity of 45.23% and a net margin of 21.51%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AON will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $319.24 per share, with a total value of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,651,320. This represents a 2.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This trade represents a 19.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of AON by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,852,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,770,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,387,773 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,155,981,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $504,424,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of AON by 40,219.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 846,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,922,000 after acquiring an additional 844,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.