Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $20,882,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 335,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,745,000 after purchasing an additional 7,515 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $217.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $106.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $218.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.23. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.31 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.