Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 934 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $179.93 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.55. The company has a market cap of $88.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.26 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.