Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Trading Down 13.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH)’s stock price traded down 13.1% on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $190.00 to $182.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marsh & McLennan Companies traded as low as $180.97 and last traded at $160.6980. 3,040,356 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 2,555,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MRSH. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $203.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $181.00 to $174.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.56.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,589,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,643,309,000 after buying an additional 387,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,057,682,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,482,557,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,702,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,567,410,000 after acquiring an additional 92,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,967,927,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.43.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.08. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 31.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) is a global professional services firm headquartered in New York City that provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. Founded in 1905, the company has grown into a diversified group of businesses focused on insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, human capital and investment consulting, and management consulting. Its long history and scale position it as a prominent adviser to corporations, governments and other institutions seeking to manage risk and optimize human and financial capital.

The firm operates through several well-known subsidiaries and business units that specialize in distinct services.