Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 23,851 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 406,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,851 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 1.3% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $88,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $176.40 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.18 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $86.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.