Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 54,322 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, owning approximately 1.39 million shares worth $339.87 million, which indicates a 4.1% growth during the first quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies experienced a 12.1% increase in quarterly revenue compared to last year, reporting earnings per share of $2.72, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.66.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.90 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous $0.82 dividend, with an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,392,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,322 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.28% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $339,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $201.48. 1,000,496 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,243,652. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.27 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $207.82 and a 200 day moving average of $221.13.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.