Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $242.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $232.00 to $242.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MMC has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $224.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $110.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $225.28 and its 200-day moving average is $215.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.73 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,566 shares of company stock worth $4,420,137. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after buying an additional 100,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,984 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.