Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Announces Earnings Results

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $4.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $201.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,707,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,958. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $171.47 and a 1 year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $212.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $204.73.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.