Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Cary Street Partners Financial LLC

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.8%, now holding 25,189 shares worth approximately $6.15 million.
• Investors such as Stifel Financial Corp and GAMMA Investing LLC have significantly increased their holdings in Marsh & McLennan, indicating a shift in institutional interest.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90, reflecting a positive outlook despite fluctuations in stock analysts' price targets.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,741 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,966 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% during the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,044 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,129,000 after purchasing an additional 759,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after buying an additional 726,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MMC. 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $203.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,026,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,861,376. The company has a market cap of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.89. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.27 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

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.