MQS Management LLC Makes New $882,000 Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $882,000. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 37,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,210,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $441,000. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.5% in the first quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.5% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 3,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $240.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.7%

MMC stock traded up $1.45 on Monday, hitting $213.19. 594,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,190,231. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $207.21 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $222.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 32.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.