Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $230.44.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,346,000 after buying an additional 686,662 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $228.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $216.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $194.94 and a one year high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.