Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 73.4%, bringing its total shares to 574,994 worth approximately $140.3 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $3.60 and providing a yield of 1.8%.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies exceeded analysts' expectations with a reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72, beating the consensus estimate by $0.06, and generated quarterly revenue of $6.97 billion.

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 73.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 574,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 243,329 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.12% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $140,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $204.61. 2,468,833 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,299,691. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.27 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $100.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $213.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.77.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. 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.