Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,212 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,212 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $40,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parisi Gray Wealth Management bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 52,218 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 63,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,447,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, 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 report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $240.29.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,524,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,003,678. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $207.21 and a one year high of $248.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $221.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend 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.