AlphaQuest LLC Increases Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.1%, owning a total of 12,937 shares valued at approximately $3.16 million after acquiring an additional 4,202 shares in Q1.
• Marsh & McLennan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90, which is an increase from the previous $0.82 dividend, representing an annual yield of 1.7%.
• Despite being rated as a "Hold" by analysts, the company's stock price predictions range from $220.00 to $258.00, indicating varied outlooks on its future performance.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 48.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for 0.3% of AlphaQuest LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after acquiring an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,505,548 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after acquiring an additional 726,713 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,218,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,459,000 after acquiring an additional 609,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,581,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $973,214,000 after acquiring an additional 308,759 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $210.9730 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.27 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.09.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 43.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.

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