Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Short Interest Up 5.9% in April

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,960,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the March 31st total of 1,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 947,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AON. TD Cowen initiated coverage on AON in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AON from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total value of $4,098,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lisa Stevens sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.26, for a total transaction of $4,098,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,175,613.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,463,980. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,532 shares of company stock worth $23,335,805. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AON

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AON. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of AON by 5.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AON by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 11,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AON by 4.9% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in shares of AON by 0.7% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in AON by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AON Price Performance

AON stock opened at $283.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $315.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.15. The company has a market cap of $61.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.90. AON has a 1-year low of $268.06 and a 1-year high of $347.37.

AON (NYSE:AON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,083.00% and a net margin of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.16%.

AON Company Profile

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.