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

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $172.73.

Several analysts have commented on MMC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 30th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $163.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 22nd.

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martin South sold 2,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.26, for a total transaction of $499,317.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,207.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 4,797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.28, for a total transaction of $759,269.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,538 shares of company stock worth $1,565,223. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transcend Wealth Collective LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Wealth Collective LLC now owns 12,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 17,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 14,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.61% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $158.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52 week low of $133.86 and a 52 week high of $183.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 31.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 6th were issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies (Get Rating)

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 in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. 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, catastrophe and financial modeling, and related advisory services; and insurance program management services.

Featured Articles