Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Stake Lessened by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 24.0%, owning 22,939 shares worth approximately $5.6 million after selling 7,225 shares in Q1.
• Wellington Management Group increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan by 54.2%, accumulating 12.8 million shares valued at over $3.1 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90, representing a boost from the previous dividend and an annual yield of 1.7%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. lessened its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,225 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,038,594,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,869,000 after buying an additional 1,510,966 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% during the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,517,000 after buying an additional 1,436,044 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,129,000 after buying an additional 759,573 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $210.3830 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.28 and a 200-day moving average of $222.96. The firm has a market cap of $103.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.77. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.27 and a twelve 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 quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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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