Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $237.00 to $244.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.46% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MMC traded up $4.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $233.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,878. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $75,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,846,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.