Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.82

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 15.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a payout ratio of 30.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $10.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.1%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $229.78 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $241.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.07 and a 200 day moving average of $223.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 51.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.