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

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $259.00 to $261.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

MMC stock traded down $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $228.54. 939,601 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,844,094. The company has a market capitalization of $112.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.51. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.