Citigroup Cuts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $201.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price target reduced by Citigroup from $211.00 to $201.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced 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 note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE MMC opened at $181.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.16. The company has a market capitalization of $89.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total transaction of $3,841,015.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the 1st 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 period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.