Opes Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Opes Wealth Management LLC acquired a stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, purchasing 3,688 shares valued at approximately $806,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares for about $4.34 million, reducing his holdings by 19.38%.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.78, with a revenue of $6.35 billion.

Opes Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,662,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% in the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,673,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MMC opened at $188.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.93. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.12 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $234.07.

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.

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