Fluent Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Fluent Financial LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after purchasing an additional 11,459 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,134,000 after purchasing an additional 203,017 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,218,000 after purchasing an additional 100,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $3,465,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.29. 175,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,648,064. The firm has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.04 and its 200 day moving average is $210.32. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.