Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1%, now owning approximately 0.05% of the company, valued at $57.1 million.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings for Marsh & McLennan, with an average consensus price target of $236.43 and seven analysts rating it as a Buy while nine others suggest holding.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90, bringing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, with the next payment scheduled for November 14th.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 261,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,798 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $57,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 52,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $355,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $189.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.12 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $202.94 and its 200 day moving average is $214.21. The company has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is presently 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.

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