Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $230.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $204.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MRSH. Mizuho lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRSH opened at $209.63 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $156.60 and a 12 month high of $214.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $183.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 33.32%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 47.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $838,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,187,000. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $243,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,000. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRSH. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at $6,583,806,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,475,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661,178 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $685,621,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $575,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through a portfolio of specialized businesses focused on insurance brokerage, reinsurance, consulting and talent management.

Its principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, a provider of reinsurance brokerage and related risk-management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in investment, retirement, health and workforce strategy; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm serving clients across industries and regions.

Founded in 1905, Marsh & McLennan serves clients in countries and markets around the world.