Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 113.5% during the 1st quarter, owning 25,068 shares valued at $6,117,000 by the end of the reporting period.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies reported an EPS of $2.72 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $6.97 billion—an increase of 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 to be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 1.7% and an increase from the previous $0.82 dividend.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 113.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,327 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $25,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.29. 1,767,649 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,554. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.27 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $211.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 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.