Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9%, owning 23,070 shares worth approximately $5.04 million after selling 4,688 shares in the second quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and achieving an 11.5% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company also declared a $0.90 quarterly dividend, with an annualized rate of $3.60, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 16.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,688 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its position 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 during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $189.24 on Thursday. 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's 50 day moving average price is $201.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.12 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $92.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.07.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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