Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target Cut to $224.00 by Analysts at Evercore

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

MRSH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MRSH opened at $175.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.24. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $156.60 and a twelve month high of $207.82. The firm has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRSH. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,153,000. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $3,880,000. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at about $46,856,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth about $20,681,000. Finally, Essex LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.