Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Bought by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9%, acquiring an additional 55,867 shares, bringing their total ownership to 1,960,496 shares.
• Marsh & McLennan recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.72 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, with revenues of $6.97 billion, a year-over-year increase of 12.1%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, up from the previous $0.82, representing an annual yield of 1.7%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,960,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,867 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 2.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $478,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $78,662,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares during the period. Finally, US Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $206.48. 2,050,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,710. The company has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.82. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.27 and a 52-week high of $248.00.

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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

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.