Piper Sandler Downgrades Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) to Neutral

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) was downgraded by research analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $211.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.94% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.73.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $197.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,205,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,092. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1-year low of $171.47 and a 1-year high of $209.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $202.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.68.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Markel Corp grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 618,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,456,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 37,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.