Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target Raised to $200.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.0%

MRSH stock opened at $192.17 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $156.60 and a twelve month high of $212.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The firm had revenue of $7.28 billion for the quarter. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.43 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $2,693,441.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares in the company, valued at $18,889,506.81. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd M. Yates sold 12,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total value of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 36,469 shares of company stock worth $6,291,345 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRSH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,589,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,643,309,000 after acquiring an additional 387,100 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $6,583,806,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $4,057,682,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $3,482,557,000. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $3,140,284,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) is a global professional services firm headquartered in New York City that provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. Founded in 1905, the company has grown into a diversified group of businesses focused on insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, human capital and investment consulting, and management consulting. Its long history and scale position it as a prominent adviser to corporations, governments and other institutions seeking to manage risk and optimize human and financial capital.

The firm operates through several well-known subsidiaries and business units that specialize in distinct services.