Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,080,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,669 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $236,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target (down previously from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $180.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.35. 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 company has a market capitalization of $88.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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 $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

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.