Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Raised to Neutral at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sell" to a "neutral" rating, with a new price target of $195.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.71% from its current price.
• A summary of analyst ratings shows that seven analysts have rated the stock as a "buy" while ten have given it a "hold" rating, with a consensus price target of $233.67.
• Marsh & McLennan reported a quarterly EPS of $1.85, exceeding estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.5%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $195.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $200.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target points to a potential upside of 2.71% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MMC. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $233.67.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.8%

MMC opened at $189.85 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $202.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.79. The company has a market cap of $93.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $185.12 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,092,108,000 after acquiring an additional 837,117 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,684,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,762,513,000 after acquiring an additional 196,475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,328,587,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after purchasing an additional 340,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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