Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 570 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. reduced its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after purchasing an additional 581,930 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after buying an additional 340,907 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,038,594,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,858,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $697,471,000 after buying an additional 65,778 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $178.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $198.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.76. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.10 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend 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 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.