Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 65,778 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% in Q1, owning approximately 2.86 million shares valued at $697.47 million.
• Marsh & McLennan reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.72, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.1% to $6.97 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, up from $0.82, indicating a positive change and a 1.8% annual dividend yield.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,858,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,778 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.58% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $697,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opus Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $203.47. 690,441 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,287,724. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.27 and a 1-year high of $248.00. 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 fifty day moving average of $213.10 and a 200 day moving average of $223.77. The company has a market capitalization of $100.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. 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 1.8%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MMC. 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 note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.79.

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.