Corient IA LLC Invests $454,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC invested $454,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, buying 1,860 shares in the first quarter, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Marsh & McLennan reported a 12.1% year-over-year revenue increase for the quarter, with an EPS of $2.72, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders with a yield of 1.7%.

Corient IA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $1,038,594,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during 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 raised its stake in 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 valued at $578,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $790,129,000 after buying an additional 759,573 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $207.29 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.27 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $211.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.94.

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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