Short Interest in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Rises By 5.9%

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was the recipient of a large 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 volume of 947,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AON shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AON from $300.00 to $289.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AON from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of AON from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AON from $318.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on AON from $378.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.69.

AON Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE AON traded down $1.45 on Thursday, hitting $282.36. The stock had a trading volume of 168,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,322. AON has a one year low of $268.06 and a one year high of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $61.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $315.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.15.

AON (NYSE:AON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $5.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AON will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AON Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from AON’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. AON’s payout ratio is presently 21.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AON news, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,128. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lester B. Knight purchased 50,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 134,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,463,980. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Neller sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,128. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,532 shares of company stock valued at $23,335,805. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AON in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AON during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AON during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.