Lafayette Investments Inc. Cuts Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $189.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $202.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.51. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $185.12 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.67.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.