Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

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

Several analysts recently commented on MMC shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. This 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 available at this link. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,566 shares of company stock worth $4,420,137 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $27,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

MMC opened at $221.69 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $109.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.