Plato Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.8%, selling 4,772 shares to hold 17,133 shares valued at approximately $4.23 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, yielding 1.8%, up from the previous $0.82.
• The company's stock has seen a price fluctuation, with a 12-month low of $196.27 and high of $248.00, and currently stands at $201.78.

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,772 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Barclays cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $202.97. 2,652,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,856,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.27 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $206.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.43.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.