Analysts Set Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) PT at $204.64

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.29.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $197.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $171.47 and a 1-year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 37.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,746,000. IAM Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $1,592,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,566,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.