WBI Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 2,372 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

MMC traded up $1.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $216.65. 704,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,665. The stock has a market cap of $106.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $217.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,993.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares in the company, valued at $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,993.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.