Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,308,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 95,921 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $293,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $2.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $230.20. The company had a trading volume of 148,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,829. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.28 and a 12-month high of $232.32. The company has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.67 and a 200-day moving average of $218.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.