Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.82 (NYSE:MMC)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has raised its dividend by an average of 15.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 31.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $10.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $243.95 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $245.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $119.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.