Welch & Forbes LLC Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying 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 buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 114.4% during the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Seven 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $178.12 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.10 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $198.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.61.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued 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 presently 43.17%.

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.