Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $236.00 to $246.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

MMC opened at $227.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year high of $232.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $223.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.72.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,712,000 after purchasing an additional 223,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after purchasing an additional 85,754 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.