Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Bought by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,589 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $23,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.69.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $177.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.97. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.18 and a 12-month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio 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.