EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 4,687 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 130.9% in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 8,268 shares, valued at approximately $2.02 million.
• Marsh & McLennan reported a 12.1% revenue growth year-over-year, achieving $6.97 billion and beating analysts' estimates, while its EPS reached $2.72, exceeding expectations by $0.06.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 43.17%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 130.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Parisi Gray Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,662,000 after purchasing an additional 29,247 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Six equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $2.55 on Wednesday, hitting $199.34. 500,542 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,240,371. The company's 50 day moving average price is $207.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.00. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.27 and a one year high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.