Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Evercore

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its target price cut by Evercore from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

MRSH has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:MRSH opened at $175.70 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $156.60 and a 12 month high of $207.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.24. The company has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%. The business had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,913.68. The trade was a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,242,448. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% during the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 31,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,421,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 249,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,601,000 after acquiring an additional 38,864 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 52.9% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 68.4% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeGoal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $269,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through four principal businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh is an insurance brokerage and risk adviser that helps clients identify, manage and transfer risk. Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance brokerage and advisory services to insurance companies.