Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 24.7%, ending the first quarter with 126,930 shares valued at approximately $30.98 million.
• In contrast, Citigroup Inc. significantly increased its holdings by 73.4%, owning 574,994 shares worth around $140.3 million.
• Marsh & McLennan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90, a raise from the previous $0.82, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,563 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $30,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after purchasing an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,156,179,000 after purchasing an additional 96,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after purchasing an additional 726,713 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,218,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,459,000 after purchasing an additional 609,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,581,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $973,214,000 after purchasing an additional 308,759 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. 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 research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded up $4.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,060,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,297,888. The company has a market cap of $102.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.77. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.27 and a 1 year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $212.49 and a 200 day moving average of $223.64.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 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.