Hartline Investment Corp Sells 2,151 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Hartline Investment Corp reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 22.1%, selling 2,151 shares and now holding 7,591 shares valued at $1.66 million.
• CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares at an average price of $205.65, decreasing his ownership by 19.38% to 87,681 shares valued at over $18 million.
• Marsh & McLennan reported quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, exceeding estimates and demonstrating an 11.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, amounting to $6.35 billion.

Hartline Investment Corp lowered its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 22.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,151 shares during the quarter. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,270,000 after buying an additional 52,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $355,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $189.85 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $202.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.21. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $185.12 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.43.

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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