AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $918,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $237,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $1,048,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total value of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $218.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year high of $232.32. The firm has a market cap of $107.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.33.

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.