Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) is set to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 18th. Analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to post earnings of $2.79 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $196.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.68. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 105,777.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,772,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,156,000 after buying an additional 9,763,286 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $659,049,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,293,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,503,000 after buying an additional 2,075,928 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 331.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,830,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,962,000 after buying an additional 1,406,293 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,369,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,840,000 after purchasing an additional 744,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.29.

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.