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

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.7%

MMC stock opened at $196.11 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a fifty-two week low of $195.01 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $96.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.