NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires 493 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $285,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,270,000 after buying an additional 52,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $237.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $205.03 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.01 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.