Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Cut to Neutral at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $211.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $204.73.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,146,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,199. The firm's 50-day moving average is $202.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.68. The company has a market cap of $97.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $171.47 and a 1-year high of $209.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Markel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 618,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $105,456,000 after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 37,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,395,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 43.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.