Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $236.00 to $246.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MMC. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $227.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $223.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.93. The firm has a market cap of $111.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 47.2% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 542,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,808,000 after purchasing an additional 174,062 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after acquiring an additional 380,828 shares in the last quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $618,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $1,116,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.