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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. 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 on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.33.

MMC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $219.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.54. The stock has a market cap of $107.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,046,079,000 after acquiring an additional 119,236 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during 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 buying an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,368,000 after buying an additional 58,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,837,000 after buying 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 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.