Royal Bank of Canada Trims AON (NYSE:AON) Target Price to $315.00

AON (NYSE:AON) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $325.00 to $315.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $330.15.

AON Stock Performance

Shares of AON traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $282.89. 575,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,028,969. The stock has a market cap of $56.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $317.11 and its 200 day moving average is $313.97. AON has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a net margin of 19.04% and a negative return on equity of 1,083.00%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AON will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of AON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $301.97 per share, for a total transaction of $15,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christa Davies sold 20,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.40, for a total transaction of $6,420,445.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,570 shares in the company, valued at $49,690,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AON

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AON. James Hambro & Partners boosted its holdings in AON by 6.9% during the first quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 239,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,869,000 after purchasing an additional 15,495 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 15,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,063,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AON during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,451,000. Carr Financial Group Corp purchased a new position in shares of AON in the first quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AON by 1.5% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% 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.