Praxis Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,220 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 20.3%, selling 3,220 shares and now owning 12,630 shares valued at approximately $2.76 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 87.99% of Marsh & McLennan Companies' stock, with notable increases in stakes from firms like Vanguard Group and Wellington Management Group.
• Marsh & McLennan reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,220 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after purchasing an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after buying an additional 340,907 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,038,594,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,858,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $697,471,000 after buying an additional 65,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMC. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $222.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $237.13.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, 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 hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 8.3%

MMC opened at $186.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $185.12 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $91.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $203.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.58.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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