Dover Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Dover Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 41.2% in Q2, now holding 3,102 shares worth approximately $678,000.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported earnings of $2.72 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 12.1% increase in quarterly revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.90 per share, representing a yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 43.17%.

Dover Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 41.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,177 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during 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 last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $202.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $206.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.25. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.27 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. 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 yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MMC. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.

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