Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Hits New 1-Year High at $227.88

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $227.88 and last traded at $227.15, with a volume of 76657 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $226.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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, Bank of America raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total value of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 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.