Royal Bank of Canada Raises Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $210.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $208.00 to $210.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.87.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.46. The company had a trading volume of 916,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,716,884. The company has a market capitalization of $99.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 12-month low of $171.47 and a 12-month high of $209.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.