Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.2%, selling 231,894 shares, resulting in a total holding of approximately 2.6 million shares valued at $633,432,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have increased their stakes in Marsh & McLennan Companies, highlighting ongoing interest from major investors.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.72, exceeding estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, indicating strong financial performance.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,595,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 231,894 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $633,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $37,178,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $203.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.77. 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. The stock's 50-day moving average is $213.73 and its 200-day moving average is $223.84.

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. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued 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 is 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%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MMC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.