Ethic Inc. Has $14.86 Million Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, reducing its holdings by 5.9% to $14.86 million with 68,479 shares after selling 4,326 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan's recent earnings report showed $1.85 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating an 11.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, with a payout scheduled for November 14, representing an annual yield of 1.9%.

Ethic Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,326 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $188.61 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.12 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.34.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.

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.