Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Receives $225.33 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $225.33.

Several research firms have commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $221.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The company has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $225.00 and its 200-day moving average is $216.82.

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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

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.