Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09, RTT News reports. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $197.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $202.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.69. The firm has a market cap of $97.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Ambassador Advisors LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Ambassador Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 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.