Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 149 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,270,000 after acquiring an additional 52,218 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at about $4,673,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed 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 for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $204.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $100.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.98. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.01 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related 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 owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.