Marsh & McLennan Companies’ (MMC) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $242.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $233.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.06 and a 200 day moving average of $219.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $184.28 and a twelve month high of $235.21.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 22.6% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,800,000 after buying an additional 6,443 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 22.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 827.5% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 14,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $187,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.