Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 6,131 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,131 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $17,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,328,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 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 lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% during 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 buying an additional 2,623,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $560,820,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut 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 note on Friday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $183.08 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $188.27 and a 200 day moving average of $203.70. The company has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.