Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $215.81.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the second 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 last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,368,000 after purchasing an additional 58,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the second quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,837,000 after purchasing an additional 40,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $222.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $109.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.37%.

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.