AON (NYSE:AON) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

AON (NYSE:AON) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AON. Mizuho cut their price target on AON from $437.00 to $398.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AON from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AON from $396.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Roth Capital set a $380.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AON in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.12.

AON Price Performance

NYSE AON opened at $322.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.66. AON has a 1-year low of $304.59 and a 1-year high of $382.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $353.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $334.22.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.01. AON had a return on equity of 42.13% and a net margin of 22.27%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. AON’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AON will post 18.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.76, for a total value of $717,744.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,751.04. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester Knight bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $327.48 per share, for a total transaction of $6,549,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 163,000 shares in the company, valued at $53,379,240. This represents a 13.99% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,659,242. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AON

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of AON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AON in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AON during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in AON during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Company Profile

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.