Whittier Trust Co. Purchases 11,737 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.4%, acquiring an additional 11,737 shares, bringing its total holdings to 170,160 shares valued at approximately $37.2 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also increased their positions in MMC, with notable increases such as Brighton Jones LLC growing their stake by 51.2% in the last quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan recently reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue up 11.5% compared to the previous year.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,737 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $37,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 15.5% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $233.67.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $189.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.12 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.51.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company's revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.

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