First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $2.39 Million Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,017 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 25,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,661,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 34,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,497,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MMC stock opened at $188.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.12 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $92.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.07.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.