MQS Management LLC Reduces Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

MQS Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 73.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,638 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management raised 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $182.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.73 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The firm has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

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.