Morgan Stanley Lowers AON (NYSE:AON) Price Target to $296.00

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $300.00 to $296.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AON has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on AON in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a neutral rating and a $309.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AON from $289.00 to $287.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered AON from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their target price for the company from $345.00 to $306.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $321.36.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $298.13 on Wednesday. AON has a 12 month low of $268.06 and a 12 month high of $344.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. AON’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.42 EPS for the current year.

AON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AON

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.61 per share, with a total value of $2,766,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 139,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,448,790. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AON

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AON. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.