Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.1% during the first quarter, now holding 161,014 shares valued at approximately $39.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also altered their positions in Marsh & McLennan, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 51.2% in Q4.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,259 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $39,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $205.71. 2,404,938 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,159,200. 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 twelve month low of $196.27 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $101.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $209.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.29.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 43.17%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.