Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Increases Dividend to $0.90 Per Share

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 9th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.90 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a 10.4% increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 31.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $10.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $214.61. 1,416,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,971,217. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $207.21 and a one year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $223.20 and its 200 day moving average is $224.68.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $240.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.