Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $4.48 Million Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Lafayette Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,950 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.1% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $2,688,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 8,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,172,000 after buying an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lockerman Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,578,560.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,566 shares of company stock valued at $4,420,137. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $223.48. 134,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,534. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $225.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.39.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.37%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.