October 11, 2023
Marsh & McLennan Companies Receives Price Target Boost from Morgan Stanley
Financial services provider Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) has seen its price target increase after a recent research report by Morgan Stanley. The brokerage raised its price target from $205.00 to $215.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.73% from the stock’s previous close. The company currently holds an “equal weight” rating.
On Wednesday, Marsh & McLennan Companies’ stock traded down slightly to reach $192.42 during mid-day trading. With a trading volume of 229,357 shares, the company is slightly below its average volume of 1,580,465 shares. The stock has shown stability with a 50-day moving average of $193.16 and a 200-day moving average of $184.09.
Marsh & McLennan Companies boasts a market cap of $95.05 billion and maintains a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38. Furthermore, the company has a quick ratio and current ratio of 1.05, highlighting its ability to meet short-term obligations effectively.
The financial services provider also demonstrates strength in its balance sheet with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. This indicates that Marsh & McLennan Companies utilizes more equity financing than debt financing to support its operations.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made adjustments to their positions in the stock as well. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies earlier this year, while Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased stakes during the first quarter by acquiring an additional 165 shares.
Additionally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings by 40.5% during the second quarter and Capital Advisors Ltd LLC entered into a new stake in shares during the same period.
Marsh & McLennan Companies’ last reported quarterly earnings were pushed upward by solid financial performance. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.08.
Furthermore, Marsh & McLennan Companies achieved a return on equity of 33.69% and a net margin of 15.20%. The firm recorded revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion.
Analysts project that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.
While overall market conditions remain uncertain, Marsh & McLennan Companies seems poised for growth with positive analyst sentiment and a strong financial position.
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Latest Developments and Market Activities in Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC)
Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) has recently received attention and comments from several brokerages. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for instance, raised their price target on MMC shares from $182.00 to $197.00 in a research note on July 6th of this year. Similarly, Raymond James also increased the price objective from $195.00 to $205.00 and rated the stock as “outperform” on July 24th.
Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Company have also made adjustments to their target prices for MMC shares. Citigroup raised its target price from $197.00 to $201.00 while rating the stock as “neutral.” On the other hand, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded their rating to “overweight” and raised their price target from $200.00 to $208.00 on July 21st.
Jefferies Financial Group gave MMC a “hold” rating and increased their price objective from $196.00 to $209.00 on October 6th of this year.
Analysts have mixed opinions about Marsh & McLennan Companies, with eleven rating it as a “hold” and five giving it a “buy” rating, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.com. The company currently holds an average rating of “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $198.36.
In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 12,976 shares of MMC stock in a transaction that took place on July 26th, at an average price of $192.20 per share, totaling approximately $2,493,987.20. As a result of this sale, Klisura now possesses 20,935 shares valued at around $4,023,707.
The SEC filing reveals that Director Oscar Fanjul sold 3,000 shares of MMC stock on August 29th at an average price of $194.90 per share, amounting to a total transaction value of $584,700. Following this sale, Fanjul’s ownership now totals 63,012 shares in the company, with an estimated worth of $12,281,038.80.
It is important to note that 0.30% of MMC stock is currently owned by company insiders.
These recent market activities and transactions involving significant personnel within Marsh & McLennan Companies have drawn attention from industry observers and investors. It remains to be seen how these developments will impact the future performance and outlook of the company in the coming months.