Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Lowers Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3%, selling 1,357 shares, bringing their total holdings to 20,328 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million.
• Marsh & McLennan recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, now at $0.90 per share, up from $0.82, yielding around 1.8%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.72 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and demonstrated a 12.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,357 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after acquiring an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,218,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,459,000 after purchasing an additional 609,602 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after purchasing an additional 340,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,038,594,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.82. 3,617,654 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,385. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $205.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.01 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $96.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

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.