Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $199.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $212.00 to $199.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $182.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.58 and a 200 day moving average of $195.52. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $174.18 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,803,000 after acquiring an additional 727,714 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,092,108,000 after purchasing an additional 837,117 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,692,000 after buying an additional 34,400 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,845,000 after buying an additional 2,623,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) is a global professional services firm headquartered in New York City that provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. Founded in 1905, the company has grown into a diversified group of businesses focused on insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, human capital and investment consulting, and management consulting. Its long history and scale position it as a prominent adviser to corporations, governments and other institutions seeking to manage risk and optimize human and financial capital.

The firm operates through several well-known subsidiaries and business units that specialize in distinct services.