Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.1% during the first quarter, selling 5,916 shares, leaving them with a total of 22,133 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, reflecting a robust annualized payout of $3.60 and a dividend yield of 1.7%.
• Equities analysts have mixed ratings on Marsh & McLennan, with a consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.76, indicating cautious optimism about the company's future performance.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,916 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $37,178,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 212.1% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 7,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 12,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $201.78. 2,193,867 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,250,889. The firm's 50-day moving average is $207.82 and its 200-day moving average is $221.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.27 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $99.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMC. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.76.

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.