Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $220.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MMC opened at $211.0860 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $103.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.77. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a one year low of $196.27 and a one year high of $248.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.58 and its 200-day moving average is $223.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.