Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $101,000. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $305,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $204.74 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.01 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.13. The company has a market capitalization of $100.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.47.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’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 transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This 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 through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.