Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Acquires 4,450 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $10,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tredje AP fonden boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 118,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,948,000 after purchasing an additional 12,900 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 19,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 47,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 33,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $228.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.02 and a 12-month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.