Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Sees Large Volume Increase After 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 brokerages also recently commented on MMC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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 stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 390.9% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $104.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current 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.