Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Sold by Voleon Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6%, selling 1,267 shares which left them with 47,050 shares valued at approximately $11.48 million.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, increasing from the previous $0.82, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.8%.
• The company reported $2.72 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $6.97 billion, a 12.1% increase compared to last year.

Voleon Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 0.9% of Voleon Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $11,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $3.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $198.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,529,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,767,458. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.27 and a 52-week high of $248.00. 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 $97.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $207.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.84.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.17%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.