JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target to $362.00

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $412.00 to $362.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AON has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AON from $391.00 to $349.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of AON from $445.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wolfe Research cut AON from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on AON from $375.00 to $360.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.53.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AON opened at $269.98 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.23. The company has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.70. AON has a fifty-two week low of $268.90 and a fifty-two week high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AON will post 18.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This trade represents a 13.99% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,450 shares of company stock worth $1,659,242 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in AON by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,252,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,323,850,000 after purchasing an additional 176,207 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of AON by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,115,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,526,000 after buying an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in AON by 16.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,582,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,857,000 after buying an additional 222,092 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in AON by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,409,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,305,000 after acquiring an additional 97,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of AON by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,502,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,103,000 after acquiring an additional 285,549 shares during the last quarter. 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, make better decisions and improve performance. Its services are organized around risk capital and human capital, combining advisory expertise, data, analytics and insurance-related solutions.

The company provides commercial risk brokerage and consulting, reinsurance brokerage, retirement and investment advisory services, health benefits consulting, talent and compensation consulting, and related technology and data products.