Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Price

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $226.00 to $222.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.78% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MMC. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $205.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $195.01 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $101.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $203.11 and its 200 day moving average is $215.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,270,000 after acquiring an additional 52,218 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,662,000 after acquiring an additional 29,247 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $4,673,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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.