AON (NYSE:AON) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

AON (NYSE:AON) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.86 by ($0.20), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. AON had a net margin of 19.17% and a negative return on equity of 1,150.40%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS.

AON Stock Performance

AON stock traded down $20.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $285.03. 4,566,608 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,672. AON has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The firm has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.14.

AON Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AON has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on AON from $342.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on AON from $306.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AON news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 40,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.29, for a total transaction of $12,582,979.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 159,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,991,685.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. Company insiders own 1.15% 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.