Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,871,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,895 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $605,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after purchasing an additional 11,459 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,134,000 after purchasing an additional 203,017 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after acquiring an additional 100,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,465,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $231.17 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.