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

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $241.93.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,059,792,000 after purchasing an additional 581,930 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,156,179,000 after purchasing an additional 96,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after acquiring an additional 726,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $231.44 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $201.77 and a one year high of $248.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.22 and its 200 day moving average is $224.83. The stock has a market cap of $114.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.95%.

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.