Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Stock Holdings Decreased by Longview Partners Guernsey LTD

Key Points

• Longview Partners Guernsey LTD has reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 6.1%, selling 155,498 shares to end the quarter with 2,405,616 shares, representing about 4.7% of its portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC and LPL Financial LLC, have increased their stakes in Marsh & McLennan Companies, indicating ongoing interest in the company's stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.90, raising its annualized dividend to $3.60 with a yield of 1.7% as of the latest reporting period.

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,405,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 155,498 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 4.7% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned about 0.49% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $587,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during 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 buying an additional 726,713 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 609,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $973,214,000 after acquiring an additional 308,759 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMC. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MMC traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $205.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,404,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,805. 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 52-week low of $196.27 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.44.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

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

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.