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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.815 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a payout ratio of 30.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Marsh & McLennan Companies to earn $10.48 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 31.1%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MMC traded down $3.33 on Wednesday, reaching $229.78. 1,192,188 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,637,954. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.72 and a 200-day moving average of $223.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $241.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A hedge fund recently raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 51.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

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.