Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.5%, now holding approximately $89.20 million in stock, which is 1.1% of its overall portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly raised their stakes in Marsh & McLennan, indicating increased confidence in the company.
• Marsh & McLennan recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.90 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $3.60 with a yield of 1.7%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 366,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,514 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 1.1% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $89,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,270,000 after buying an additional 52,218 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,662,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 1,284 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 traded down $0.7270 during trading on Friday, reaching $210.3830. 1,467,076 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,538. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.27 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.77. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $210.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.98.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut 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 cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.76.

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.