Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 3rd

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 31.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $10.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $243.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $245.98. The stock has a market cap of $119.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.