Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 453.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,670 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,348,000 after buying an additional 6,282 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

MMC opened at $230.17 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.28 and a 12-month high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.