Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Acquired by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 28.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 990,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220,278 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for about 0.9% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $216,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,803,000 after buying an additional 727,714 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,662,000 after acquiring an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% during the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,692,000 after acquiring an additional 34,400 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $1,477,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $180.14 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $88.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. 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 50-day moving average of $195.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.28.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was 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 this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.