JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $230.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MMC. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $211.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $213.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $218.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $107.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.64 and its 200 day moving average is $203.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $219.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,993.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total transaction of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $455,771.97. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,940,789,000 after buying an additional 2,526,701 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,787,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,066,000 after buying an additional 649,505 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,232,000 after buying an additional 581,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.