Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Bought by Shell Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% in Q2, owning 8,577 shares valued at approximately $1.875 million.
• CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of stock, reducing his ownership by 19.38%, with the transaction totaling over $4.3 million.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Marsh & McLennan, with Morgan Stanley and Barclays revising their targets to $215.00 and $221.00 respectively, while the average target price stands at $237.47.

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 48.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MMC. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $237.47.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.4%

MMC stock opened at $204.74 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.01 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $202.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

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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