Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Announces Earnings Results

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12, Zacks reports. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $219.14. The stock had a trading volume of 913,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,350. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52 week low of $190.41 and a 52 week high of $235.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.60.

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.