CCLA Investment Management Increases Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

CCLA Investment Management raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 11.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 496,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,039 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $104,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,940,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,991.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 693,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,047,000 after purchasing an additional 679,474 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,066,000 after purchasing an additional 649,505 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $118,353,000. Finally, Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $95,139,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $228.07 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.37%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 note on Friday, July 19th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America increased 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 report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.