Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Reaches New 52-Week High at $228.78

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $228.78 and last traded at $228.43, with a volume of 92215 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $227.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $114.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth about $564,000. Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 18,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,368,000 after purchasing an additional 58,461 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.