Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5%, now holding approximately 4.35 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported $2.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a 12.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.90, reflecting a 1.8% dividend yield and signaling strong financial health.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 340,907 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.88% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $1,060,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $37,178,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,827,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,612,000 after buying an additional 258,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 257,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,761,000 after buying an additional 115,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $203.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,026,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,861,376. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $214.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.27 and a one year high of $248.00.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.79.

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.