Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 793,052 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has significantly increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5,035.9%, owning 808,800 shares valued at approximately $176.8 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a mixed outlook on Marsh & McLennan, with six analysts rating it as Buy, while the average rating is a "Hold" with a consensus target price of $238.76.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue increase of 12.1% year-over-year to about $6.97 billion.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 5,035.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 808,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 793,052 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $176,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 93,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 46.5% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.2% in the second quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 22,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,815,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $841,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.82. The stock had a trading volume of 3,617,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,385. The company has a market capitalization of $96.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.22 and a 200-day moving average of $218.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.01 and a 12-month 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.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors 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 yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. 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 research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.76.

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.