Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a drop of 8.2% from the June 30th total of 3,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

AON Price Performance

AON stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $327.82. The company had a trading volume of 830,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 4.13. AON has a 1 year low of $268.06 and a 1 year high of $344.68. The company has a market capitalization of $71.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.20.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released 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). AON had a return on equity of 252.81% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AON from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut shares of AON from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $345.00 to $306.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of AON from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of AON from $300.00 to $296.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $330.21.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, insider Andy Weitz 8,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.61 per share, for a total transaction of $2,766,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 139,000 shares in the company, valued at $38,448,790. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andy Weitz 8,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in AON by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% 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.