Morgan Stanley Cuts Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) Price Target to $190.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $190.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MRSH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “hold (c)” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.38.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE MRSH opened at $172.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a twelve month low of $164.89 and a twelve month high of $239.34.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.60% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 42.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,411,456.30. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRSH. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 17,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.4% during the second quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 1,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.7% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 19,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,230,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.