American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7%, now owning approximately $269.66 million worth of shares.
• Marsh & McLennan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend of $0.82, thus yielding 1.7% annually.
• Recent earnings reports indicate Marsh & McLennan had a net margin of 16.00% and revenue of $6.97 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,105,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,570 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.22% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $269,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $1,038,594,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,146 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,966 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436,044 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $790,129,000 after purchasing an additional 759,573 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $207.29. 1,767,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,554. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.27 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $211.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. 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 research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.94.

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.