AON (NYSE:AON) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.20 EPS

AON (NYSE:AON) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $5.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.86 by ($0.20), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. AON had a negative return on equity of 1,150.40% and a net margin of 19.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS.

AON Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of NYSE AON traded down $20.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $285.03. 4,566,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,672. AON has a 52 week low of $268.06 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $317.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.14.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. AON’s payout ratio is currently 19.71%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In related news, Director Lester B. Knight acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $301.97 per share, with a total value of $15,098,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 134,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AON news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AON has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of AON from $333.00 to $308.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.69.

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.