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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $215.53.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $231.17 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

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

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, X Square Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.