Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target Cut to $215.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $220.00 to $215.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

MMC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $219.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,174,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,084. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $196.72 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average price is $231.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.63. The stock has a market cap of $108.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $230,000. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 44.4% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 2,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $8,257,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.