Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $212.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $209.00 to $212.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $221.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $225.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $108.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,566 shares of company stock worth $4,420,137 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,229,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.1% during the third quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% 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.