Jefferies Financial Group Raises Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $208.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $197.00 to $208.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a sell rating and lowered their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $212.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $201.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $99.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.98. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (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%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.