Brokerages Set Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Target Price at $225.33

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

Several equities research analysts have commented on MMC shares. Barclays started 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 target on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $221.55 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $184.28 and a twelve month high of $232.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.00 and a 200-day moving average of $216.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after purchasing an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after acquiring an additional 100,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,984 shares during the last quarter. 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.