Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $229.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.48. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.02 and a 52 week high of $232.32. The company has a market capitalization of $112.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total value of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm upped 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, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.53.

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.