Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $235.50 and last traded at $234.66, with a volume of 330391 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $136,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $118,749,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,906,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $319,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.