Analysts Set Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Price Target at $241.93

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $241.93.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,679,000 after purchasing an additional 16,464 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,635,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $1.27 on Wednesday, hitting $220.51. 2,196,846 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,874,379. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $231.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.59. The firm has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $196.72 and a 1 year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.95%.

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.