Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Plans $0.82 Quarterly Dividend

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 12.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a payout ratio of 34.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $9.45 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 34.5%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $222.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.28. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.41.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,578,560.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.