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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.87.

Several research firms have issued reports on MMC. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 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 made changes to their positions in MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $202.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $171.47 and a 12-month high of $209.20. The firm has a market cap of $99.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 37.72%.

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.