Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.4%, now holding 12,994 shares worth approximately $3.17 million.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, an increase from the previous $0.82, reflecting a 1.8% yield.
• Following recent earnings reports, the stock has a consensus "Hold" rating, with a current price target of $238.76, despite several analyst downgrades.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock 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 on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on 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, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Six investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $202.97 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $206.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.43. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.27 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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 business posted $2.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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