Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 32.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 130,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,312 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $29,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $209,000. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.0% during the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $227.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $223.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 40.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.00.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

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

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.