Quilter Plc Increases Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 263,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,270 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for 1.2% of Quilter Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $55,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $229.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $112.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.