Assetmark Inc. Reduces Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. has reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3%, now owning 658,152 shares valued at approximately $160.6 million.
• Marsh & McLennan is seeing adjustments in institutional investments, with firms like City Holding Co. and Ameriflex Group acquiring new positions valued around $37,000 each.
• The company recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90, reflecting positive growth and a dividend yield of 1.71%.

Assetmark Inc. decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 658,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,962 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.13% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $160,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.39. 2,290,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,449,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.21 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $219.49 and its 200-day moving average is $224.61.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. 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 currently 43.17%.

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.