Groupe la Francaise Boosts Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12%, acquiring 3,443 shares to hold a total of 32,164 shares valued at $7.83 million.
• Marsh & McLennan recently reported earnings of $2.72 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.66, with revenue growing 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.90, up from $0.82, indicating strong financial stability with a dividend yield of 1.7%.

Groupe la Francaise boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,443 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,059,792,000 after acquiring an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 worth $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,513,000 after purchasing an additional 726,713 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 609,602 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,581,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,214,000 after buying an additional 308,759 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $206.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,383,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,309. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $209.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.27 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.