Brokerages Set Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Price Target at $215.53

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $215.53.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

MMC stock opened at $230.03 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $184.02 and a one year high of $232.32. The stock has a market cap of $113.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $221.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.29. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,046,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after buying an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,048,077,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,712,000 after acquiring an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after acquiring an additional 11,459 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.