Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target Lowered to $200.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its price objective cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $206.00 to $200.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MRSH. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $242.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. They set a “hold (c)” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.38.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $1.74 on Tuesday, reaching $173.08. The company had a trading volume of 692,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,097,428. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.26. The stock has a market cap of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 52-week low of $164.89 and a 52-week high of $239.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.52 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 31.60%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares in the company, valued at $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31.3% during the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 14,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,022,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.