Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $241.93.

MMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $229.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $201.77 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.95%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.