DnB Asset Management AS Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, acquiring 34,940 shares, raising its holdings by 34.8% to a total of 135,455 shares worth approximately $33 million.
• Marsh & McLennan reported a strong quarterly performance, with $2.72 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 12.1% revenue increase year-over-year.
• In August, Marsh & McLennan announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising the dividend from $0.82 to $0.90, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.7%.

DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 34.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,940 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $33,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $198.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 740,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,649. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $207.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.00. 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 company has a market cap of $97.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.27 and a 12-month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MMC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.