Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $239.79.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE MMC opened at $199.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.37. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $198.45 and a one year high of $248.00. The firm has a market cap of $97.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.