Graybill Wealth Management LTD. Invests $1.48 Million in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,477,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.5% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 867 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.9% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 110.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 23,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,668,000 after purchasing an additional 12,215 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.7% during the first quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.5% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 33,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $240.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,256,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,077. The company has a market capitalization of $104.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.80. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.21 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $222.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 32.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.