Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 12,093 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,093 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $15,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.6% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.7% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 148,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,666,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $225.05. The company had a trading volume of 134,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,188. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $110.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $224.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.45.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.33.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.