Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target Raised to $218.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $218.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MRSH. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $179.00 to $178.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $193.00 to $188.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.42.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE MRSH opened at $199.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.40. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $156.60 and a 1-year high of $199.59. The company has a market capitalization of $94.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.32% and a net margin of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,448. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth $6,583,806,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,475,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $685,621,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $575,845,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $532,438,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through a portfolio of specialized businesses focused on insurance brokerage, reinsurance, consulting and talent management.

Its principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, a provider of reinsurance brokerage and related risk-management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in investment, retirement, health and workforce strategy; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm serving clients across industries and regions.

Founded in 1905, Marsh & McLennan serves clients in countries and markets around the world.