Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Issues Earnings Results

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

MMC stock opened at $216.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $211.10 and its 200-day moving average is $203.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $221.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total transaction of $1,254,060.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares in the company, valued at $11,159,670.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,338 shares of company stock worth $2,187,012. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.