Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 13,701 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 28.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,701 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 4,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 587,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,059,000 after buying an additional 21,181 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after buying an additional 85,754 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,714,000. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 169,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,742,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMC. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.33.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MMC opened at $221.96 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $223.81 and its 200-day moving average is $218.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

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.