Capital International Sarl Acquires 1,019 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,940,789,000 after buying an additional 2,526,701 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $261,787,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,066,000 after buying an additional 649,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,232,000 after buying an additional 581,131 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total transaction of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,338 shares of company stock worth $2,187,012 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $217.97. 1,531,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,078. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $221.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.