Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $220.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.10% from the company’s previous close.

MMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $219.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12 month low of $196.72 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $232.39 and its 200-day moving average is $224.70.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,966 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.