Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target Raised to $261.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $259.00 to $261.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

MMC has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, 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. Two equities 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, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC traded up $4.09 on Wednesday, reaching $237.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,314,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,399. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $248.00. 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 company has a market cap of $117.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $232.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 105.6% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $37,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $208,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.