Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09, RTT News reports. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MMC opened at $202.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $99.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $171.47 and a 12-month high of $209.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.87.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Markel Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 618,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,456,000 after buying an additional 9,300 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 37,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.