Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases 11,741 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% during Q1, owning approximately $91.99 million in shares.
• Institutional ownership in Marsh & McLennan Companies is high, with 87.99% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90, marking an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.82.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,741 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $91,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,178,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,041,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MMC traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,514,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,765,680. The firm has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $216.62 and its 200 day moving average is $224.39. 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 (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.79.

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.