Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Mcrae Capital Management Inc.

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 1,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $223.32. 1,051,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,672,724. The company has a market capitalization of $110.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $227.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.25.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.