Comerica Bank Cuts Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 3.5%, ending the quarter with 144,496 shares valued at approximately $35.3 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.60 and a dividend yield of 1.7%.
• Analysts have varied ratings for the stock with six rating it as a "Buy" and the average target price set at $238.76, reflecting mixed sentiment among institutional investors.

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,164 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $35,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after buying an additional 581,930 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during the 4th 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,218,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,459,000 after buying an additional 609,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,581,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $973,214,000 after buying an additional 308,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $210.3830 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $103.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.77. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.27 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.96.

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, 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MMC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.