Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target Increased to $248.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $235.00 to $248.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $216.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $222.79 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,134,000 after buying an additional 203,017 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after buying an additional 100,378 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% during the first quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.