Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 453.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,670 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,712,000 after acquiring an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $718,368,000 after purchasing an additional 58,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the second quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,837,000 after buying an additional 40,182 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE MMC opened at $230.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.28 and a 1-year high of $235.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Bank of America upped 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.60.

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.