Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 1.4% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $16,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,368,000 after acquiring an additional 58,461 shares during the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $679,837,000 after acquiring an additional 40,182 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.7% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,262,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,929,000 after purchasing an additional 121,260 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

MMC stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $222.49. 169,599 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,265. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.28 and a 12-month high of $232.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.15.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.33.

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.