Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 1,580 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,580 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% during the second quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MMC stock opened at $227.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.