Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) Stock Has Average Target Price of $203.50 According to Analysts

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $203.69.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRSH shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRSH stock opened at $170.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $156.60 and a 12 month high of $207.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.The company had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total transaction of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,975.65. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,159,913.68. This represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903 over the last 90 days. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRSH. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 60,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,098,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.4% in the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through four principal businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh is an insurance brokerage and risk adviser that helps clients identify, manage and transfer risk. Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance brokerage and advisory services to insurance companies.