Bank of America Boosts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $233.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $223.00 to $233.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $210.27.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $207.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $102.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $171.47 and a 1 year high of $211.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $455,771.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,993.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $455,771.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,993.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,903,935. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at $27,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.