Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 907 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,086,000 after buying an additional 5,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,431,000 after acquiring an additional 39,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $225.36 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

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.