Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $195.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $200.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $189.24 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $185.12 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during 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.