Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 192 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $23,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $1,038,594,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,623,745 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,436,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5,035.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 808,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,836,000 after purchasing an additional 793,052 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $178.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.10 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.90. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Wolfe Research began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.