Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $223.00 to $233.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marsh & McLennan Companies traded as high as $211.53 and last traded at $210.98, with a volume of 176738 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.93.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,920 shares of company stock worth $7,903,935. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after acquiring an additional 119,236 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,423,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,696,223,000 after acquiring an additional 61,408 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,188,348,000 after acquiring an additional 380,828 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,278,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,881,000 after buying an additional 31,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,145,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,169,403,000 after buying an additional 150,655 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $103.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $203.38 and a 200 day moving average of $198.92. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

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.