Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) Stock Has Average Target Price of $203.50

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $203.69.

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRSH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total value of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,913.68. This represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.3% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Columbia Bank raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 1,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MRSH opened at $170.25 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $156.60 and a 12-month high of $207.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.28 billion for the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through four principal businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh is an insurance brokerage and risk adviser that helps clients identify, manage and transfer risk. Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance brokerage and advisory services to insurance companies.