Quantitative Investment Management LLC Has $6.61 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, holding $6.61 million worth of shares after buying an additional 25,444 shares during the first quarter, marking a 1,565.8% growth.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $3.60, reflecting a 1.7% dividend yield.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Marsh & McLennan Companies, with six Buy ratings, nine Holds, and two Sells, while the stock has a consensus price target of $238.76.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1,565.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,444 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.4% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 6,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,960,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,420,000 after purchasing an additional 55,867 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,000. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 32,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,829,000 after buying an additional 3,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.3% during the first quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MMC. Barclays reduced 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 research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $206.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,190,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,256,864. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.27 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $209.75 and its 200 day moving average is $222.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.