12,589 Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after buying an additional 11,459 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares during the period. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,134,000 after purchasing an additional 203,017 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,218,000 after purchasing an additional 100,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $3,465,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

MMC stock opened at $231.17 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.02 and a one year high of $232.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.78. 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 earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

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.