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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) saw 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. 716,789 shares were traded 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 equities research analysts have also weighed in on MMC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MMC. FMR LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after acquiring an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,683,000 after buying an additional 85,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $103.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $219.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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.