Swedbank AB Acquires 244,829 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.6% during Q2, now owning 896,659 shares valued at approximately $196 million.
• Marsh & McLennan recently reported earnings of $2.72 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue increase of 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.90 on November 14th, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 37.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 896,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 244,829 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.18% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $196,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $197.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,355,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,530. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.81. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.01 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $204.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.56.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.