Barclays Initiates Coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC)

Equities researchers at Barclays started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.30% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MMC. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $228.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $112.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,735 shares of company stock worth $6,151,377 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.