Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Holdings Boosted by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,554 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after acquiring an additional 119,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,940,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526,701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,077,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,060,000 after acquiring an additional 11,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,474,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,407,000 after acquiring an additional 305,440 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $219.07. 1,390,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,064. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $221.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $211.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.22.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total transaction of $1,254,060.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,993.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,338 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,012 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.