Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,240 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $1,038,594,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,845,000 after buying an additional 2,623,745 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $578,517,000 after buying an additional 1,436,044 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5,035.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 808,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,836,000 after purchasing an additional 793,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 2.5%

MMC stock opened at $182.99 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.73 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.