Analysts Set Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) PT at $237.13

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.4286.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.8%

MMC stock opened at $189.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $185.12 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $202.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,092,108,000 after acquiring an additional 837,117 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,684,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,513,000 after purchasing an additional 196,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,328,587,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,060,362,000 after buying an additional 340,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.