Ceeto Capital Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ceeto Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,526,701 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $261,787,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,232,000 after purchasing an additional 581,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.25.

Insider Activity

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $217.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,616,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,821,881. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $221.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.95. The stock has a market cap of $107.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.37%.

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.