Washington Trust Bank Sells 905 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Washington Trust Bank trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 905 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 1.4% of Washington Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMC. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $1.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $223.25. 2,659,320 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,778,435. The company has a market capitalization of $109.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $224.95 and its 200 day moving average is $216.86. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

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.