Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target Lowered to $215.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $220.00 to $215.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an underperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $212.16 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $196.72 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % 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 Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.