Coho Partners Ltd. Sells 74,033 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Coho Partners Ltd. lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 27.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 199,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 74,033 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 3.3% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $43,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.9% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 8.3%

MMC opened at $186.86 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.12 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by 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.