19,156 Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Purchased by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CCLA Investment Management grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 11.2% during the second quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 496,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,586,000 after buying an additional 50,039 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 48,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,220,000 after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 118,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,948,000 after purchasing an additional 12,900 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 19,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MMC. Barclays began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

MMC stock opened at $228.07 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 in the last 90 days. 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.