AON (NYSE:AON) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Aon plc (NYSE:AON)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $395.65 and last traded at $395.02, with a volume of 345920 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $391.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AON from $372.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $386.21.

AON Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $366.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.64. The stock has a market cap of $85.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by $0.17. AON had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 70.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. AON’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,121.44. This trade represents a 26.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total transaction of $494,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AON in the 4th quarter worth about $596,665,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth approximately $336,375,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of AON by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,067,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $742,582,000 after purchasing an additional 960,204 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in AON by 41.6% in the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,010,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,623,000 after purchasing an additional 883,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in AON by 334.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,050,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,475,000 after buying an additional 808,990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.