Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $236.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MMC. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $227.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The company has a market cap of $112.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.58.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.815 dividend. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,735 shares of company stock worth $6,151,377. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.