Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. by 12% during Q2, owning 137,283 shares valued at approximately $30 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.99% of Marsh & McLennan's stock, indicating strong institutional support for the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.8%, with payments scheduled for November 14th.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,685 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $30,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $101,000. Lmcg Investments LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the first quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 6,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at $237,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value 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 represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MMC opened at $201.25 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. The firm's 50-day moving average is $202.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.74. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.01 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.81.

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 net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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