Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $250.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $242.00.

MMC has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $217.60 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $235.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,294,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 29,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 204.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. 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.