Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target Raised to $232.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $223.00 to $232.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MMC. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of MMC opened at $233.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $232.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% during the first quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,565,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. DHK Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.