Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) PT Raised to $238.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $236.00 to $238.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $201.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $203.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.10. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.