Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Hartline Investment Corp

Hartline Investment Corp lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth about $3,710,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 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 worth $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,431,000 after purchasing an additional 39,013 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays started 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 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $225.24 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $110.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.68 and a 200-day moving average of $217.64. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year high of $232.32.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.