UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 1,076 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,662,000 after purchasing an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,692,000 after buying an additional 34,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $4,673,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MMC stock opened at $178.43 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $178.31 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.