Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $212.00 to $214.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Approximately 716,789 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session’s volume of 1,413,938 shares.The stock last traded at $209.65 and had previously closed at $209.11.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 7,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,618,000 after acquiring an additional 6,310 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,919,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $103.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.12.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.