Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Barclays began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $236.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $227.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.58.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.37%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,735 shares of company stock worth $6,151,377. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.