AON (NYSE:AON) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $396.15 and last traded at $392.14, with a volume of 1280275 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $389.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AON. Barclays lifted their price objective on AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AON from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AON from $379.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AON from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.21.

AON Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $370.87 and a 200-day moving average of $363.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.93.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. AON’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in AON by 2,025.0% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 85 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in AON in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AON by 1,162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About AON

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.