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

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) traded down 13.1% during trading 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 changed hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 2,555,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MRSH. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,589,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,643,309,000 after acquiring an additional 387,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $4,057,682,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $3,482,557,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in 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 worth $3,567,410,000 after buying an additional 92,767 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,967,927,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.72. 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 company has a market cap of $77.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.65.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 31.87%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.