Vestcor Inc Sells 1,824 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.5%, selling 1,824 shares and holding 38,552 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Marsh & McLennan, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.79.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, representing a 9.8% boost from the previous dividend amount.

Vestcor Inc decreased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,824 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $9,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMC. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,004.7% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 14,357 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 47.7% in the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $4,343,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 7,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 98.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MMC traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,514,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,064. 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 has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.37. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.27 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 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.