Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $250.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $242.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.24% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $215.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $105.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $224.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.67. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a fifty-two week low of $184.28 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.