Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $1.87 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 140.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,911 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $230.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.28 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50. The company has a market capitalization of $113.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued 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 business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. Bank of America lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.