Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Mizuho from $200.00 to $218.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho‘s price target points to a potential upside of 5.08% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $206.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.9%

MRSH stock traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $207.46. 1,823,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,589. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $156.60 and a twelve month high of $214.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.49. The company has a market cap of $98.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.32% and a net margin of 14.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $838,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,187,000. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,000. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRSH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,583,806,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $961,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661,178 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $685,621,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,454,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,198,000 after buying an additional 697,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $575,845,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now known as Marsh, is a professional services firm focused on risk, strategy and people. Its businesses help organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance and reinsurance, and address workforce and organizational challenges. The company operates through Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory business; Guy Carpenter, which specializes in reinsurance and related risk services; Mercer, which provides health, wealth and career consulting; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.