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

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.5625.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MMC stock opened at $183.81 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $174.18 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.84. The company has a market cap of $90.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 97,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,914,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Middleton & Co. Inc. MA bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.