HB Wealth Management LLC Buys 3,011 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 32.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,011 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,159,670.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $227.04. 127,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,651,771. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $228.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.