Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. has increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7%, making it the firm's third largest position, accounting for approximately 5.2% of their holdings.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported a 12.1% year-over-year revenue increase in the last quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company has declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, reflecting an annualized total of $3.60, with a dividend yield of 1.78%.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 440,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for approximately 5.2% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $107,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $472,599,000 after buying an additional 1,883,146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,016,000 after buying an additional 765,696 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 759,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:MMC traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.76. 3,514,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,589,960. 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 current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $217.26 and a 200 day moving average of $224.37. The stock has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

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.