Ascent Group LLC Has $5.16 Million Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 28.6%, holding 21,127 shares valued at $5.16 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, reflecting positive growth with an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Marsh & McLennan's stock with a current average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 52,218 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,662,000 after purchasing an additional 29,247 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% in the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.2%

MMC stock opened at $203.54 on Monday. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $208.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.32. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.27 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $100.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81.

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 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is 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.

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