AON (NYSE:AON) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $379.00 to $394.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 506,644 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the previous session’s volume of 298,933 shares.The stock last traded at $354.61 and had previously closed at $354.98.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AON from $325.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of AON from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of AON from $344.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $363.00.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other AON news, COO Mindy F. Simon sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.34, for a total transaction of $256,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,816 shares in the company, valued at $716,121.44. The trade was a 26.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lisa Stevens sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.68, for a total value of $494,292.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,291.36. The trade was a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AON

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AON. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in AON during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AON by 1,162.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the third quarter worth about $37,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AON in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in AON during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $76.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $344.37.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. AON’s payout ratio is 22.78%.

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.