Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,991.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 693,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,047,000 after acquiring an additional 679,474 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,066,000 after purchasing an additional 649,505 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $118,353,000. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $95,139,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,623.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 467,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,376,000 after acquiring an additional 450,709 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $224.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $225.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.99. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.02 and a 12-month high of $232.32. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,566 shares of company stock valued at $4,420,137. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.13.

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.