Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.1%, selling 3,500 shares, leaving them with a total of 64,900 shares valued at approximately $15.8 million.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $2.72, exceeding estimates and showing a 12.1% year-over-year growth in revenue, reaching $6.97 billion.
• Marsh & McLennan has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90, resulting in an annual yield of 1.7%.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $15,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Findlay Park Partners LLP increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 1,130,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $275,843,000 after acquiring an additional 242,400 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 720,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $175,905,000 after acquiring an additional 146,644 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 379.3% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 4,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 992,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $242,184,000 after acquiring an additional 164,855 shares during the period. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MMC stock traded down $0.73 on Monday, hitting $205.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,404,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,727. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.38 and a 200 day moving average of $222.18. The stock has a market cap of $101.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.27 and a 12-month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid 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 an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Barclays cut 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

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.