Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MMC traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $217.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,531,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,078. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $221.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $107.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,993.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,338 shares of company stock worth $2,187,012 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.25.

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.