Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Upgraded to Market Perform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Marsh & McLennan Companies was upgraded to a "market perform" rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, with a new target price of $191.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.22% from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade, other analysts have varied opinions, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $235.94, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.85, surpassing expectations and marking an 11.5% year-over-year revenue increase, demonstrating strong financial performance.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $191.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $209.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.22% from the company's previous close.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $186.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $185.12 and a one year high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.22 and a 200 day moving average of $214.58.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS 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 dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 837,117 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,762,513,000 after purchasing an additional 196,475 shares in 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 stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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