AON (NYSE:AON) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Aon plc (NYSE:AON)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $363.11 and last traded at $361.45, with a volume of 227794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AON. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of AON in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.06.

AON Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.33.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. AON had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 252.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 15.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AON. Trust Co. of Oklahoma increased its holdings in shares of AON by 3.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,638,000. CX Institutional increased its stake in AON by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AON by 367.7% during the third quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.