Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Acquired by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.4%, owning a total of 18,079 shares worth approximately $4.41 million.
• Marsh & McLennan increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90, marking an annualized rate of $3.60 with a dividend yield of 1.7%.
• The company reported earnings of $2.72 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showed a 12.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 52,218 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,662,000 after acquiring an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares during the period. Finally, US Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. Citigroup started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $210.9730 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $210.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.27 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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