Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Given New $238.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $236.00 to $238.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MMC. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a sell rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $200.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $203.13 and a 200-day moving average of $197.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors 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.