Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $236.00 to $246.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $227.82 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 542,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,808,000 after purchasing an additional 174,062 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,188,348,000 after acquiring an additional 380,828 shares in the last quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $618,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.