Walter Public Investments Inc. Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 107,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,396 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 4.1% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $22,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 3,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $229.68 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.17 and a 200 day moving average of $211.57. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.02 and a 52 week high of $232.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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