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

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $207.69.

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $203.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.67. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,940,789,000 after buying an additional 2,526,701 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $261,787,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,066,000 after acquiring an additional 649,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,232,000 after purchasing an additional 581,131 shares during the period. 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.