Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $246.53 and last traded at $243.58, with a volume of 182371 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $242.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 5.9 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $112.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,397 shares of company stock worth $15,694,684 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.