Cantor Fitzgerald Begins Coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has initiated coverage of Marsh & McLennan Companies with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $256.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.12% from its current stock price.
• Other analysts have mixed opinions on the company, with Citigroup rating it as "neutral" at $226, while Wells Fargo and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target prices, suggesting caution.
• Marsh & McLennan's recent earnings report showed a quarterly revenue of $6.97 billion and an EPS of $2.72, beating analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 12.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price points to a potential upside of 23.62% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.09. 1,670,127 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,828,008. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.43. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $196.27 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.