Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target Raised to $201.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan’s price target to $201 from $186 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying 7.57% upside. Analysts overall hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average target of $203.55.
• Shares fell 0.8% to $186.85, despite the company reporting quarterly earnings of $2.03 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.96, and revenue of $6.86 billion, up 8.1% year over year.
• Insiders sold 19,813 shares worth approximately $3.6 million in the past quarter, while institutional investors own a substantial 87.99% stake in the company.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $186.00 to $201.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target indicates a potential upside of 7.57% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $179.00 to $178.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.55.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MRSH stock traded down $1.50 on Monday, reaching $186.85. The stock had a trading volume of 351,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,807,292. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $156.60 and a 12 month high of $198.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $181.17.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.32% and a net margin of 14.20%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,242,448. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total value of $2,107,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $6,583,806,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,475,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $961,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661,178 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $685,621,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $575,845,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through a portfolio of specialized businesses focused on insurance brokerage, reinsurance, consulting and talent management.

Its principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, a provider of reinsurance brokerage and related risk-management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in investment, retirement, health and workforce strategy; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm serving clients across industries and regions.

Founded in 1905, Marsh & McLennan serves clients in countries and markets around the world.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.