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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $224.5625.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MMC opened at $183.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.56 and its 200 day moving average is $203.84. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $174.18 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.