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

AON (NYSE:AON) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

AON Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AON opened at $285.03 on Friday. AON has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $347.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $317.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.06.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. 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. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AON. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.69.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

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.