Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 67,440 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.72, beating estimates, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.1%, totaling $6.97 billion.
• A recent dividend of $0.90 per share has been announced, translating to an annualized yield of 1.7% with a payout ratio of 43.17%.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,772 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $237.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $207.12 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.01 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.57. The company has a market capitalization of $101.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 43.17%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.

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