PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 7,910 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3%, acquiring an additional 7,910 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 595,851 shares worth $145,406,000.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.90 per share, which represents a 1.8% dividend yield and is up from the previous dividend of $0.82.
• The financial services provider reported a 12.1% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings of $2.72 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.66 per share.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 595,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,910 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $145,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after acquiring an additional 726,713 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 609,602 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,581,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,214,000 after purchasing an additional 308,759 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,129,000 after acquiring an additional 759,573 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 reduced their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $203.58. The company had a trading volume of 318,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,940. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $214.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.98. The stock has a market cap of $100.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.77. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.27 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The business 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%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.17%.

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.