Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Upgraded to Hold at Royal Bank Of Canada

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) was upgraded by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $221.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.56.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $182.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $174.18 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMC. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 49,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,997,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,946,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 29,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth $984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.