Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 valued at $1,940,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,991.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 693,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,047,000 after purchasing an additional 679,474 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,066,000 after purchasing an additional 649,505 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,232,000 after purchasing an additional 581,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE MMC opened at $231.84 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.04.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.