Capital Wealth Planning LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during 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 period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,134,000 after buying an additional 203,017 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after acquiring an additional 100,378 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $3,465,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $229.68 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.02 and a 12-month high of $232.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $222.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a 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 presently 41.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.