Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $233.41.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 67,397 shares of company stock valued at $15,694,684. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $344,000. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $380,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MMC traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,052,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,808,615. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $119.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $245.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $231.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

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.