Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Announces $0.82 Quarterly Dividend

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 15th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 15.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 31.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $9.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.5%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MMC opened at $216.42 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $188.31 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $218.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.09.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during 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%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.