Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after buying an additional 119,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,077,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after purchasing an additional 11,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,474,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,407,000 after buying an additional 305,440 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

MMC opened at $229.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.53. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.