Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Stock Price Target Cut by Evercore

Key Points

• Evercore lowered Marsh & McLennan’s price target from $234 to $224, still implying 27.49% upside from the stock’s $175.70 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $200.67; recommendations include two Strong Buys, five Buys, twelve Holds, and one Sell.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.96, beating estimates by $0.07, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $7.28 billion. Insiders sold nearly $3.6 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Evercore from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research report issued on Thursday. Evercore's target price indicates a potential upside of 27.49% from the company's current price.

MRSH has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $200.67.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $175.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 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 current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $182.24.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The business had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 16,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.

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