Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC), purchasing 2,073 shares valued at approximately $506,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Marsh & McLennan; notably, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake by 51.2% during the fourth quarter.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.82 to $0.90 per share, with a yield of 1.71%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% in the first 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 increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% in the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $4.04 on Monday, hitting $206.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,483,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,444,845. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.89 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $218.98 and a 200 day moving average of $224.77. The company has a market cap of $101.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. 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 yield of 1.74%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

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.