LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9%, owning approximately 324,035 shares valued at $78.66 million.
• Marsh & McLennan reported $2.72 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $6.97 billion, up 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90, up from the previous $0.82, indicating strong financial health and a 1.80% dividend yield.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,247 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $78,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Defined Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MMC traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $199.16. 2,997,690 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,525,221. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $198.45 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $217.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. On average, equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.