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

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) saw an uptick in 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. 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.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AON. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AON from $338.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AON from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AON from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $377.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AON from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AON from $413.00 to $432.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $363.00.

Insider Transactions at AON

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AON. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AON during the second quarter worth $31,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in AON by 1,162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in AON during the third quarter valued at $37,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AON during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AON Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $76.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $372.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $344.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.05.

AON Dividend Announcement

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

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.