Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 51,790 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,918,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,790 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 7.0% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,543,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,868.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 14,005 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,464,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,805,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 342,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,339,000 after acquiring an additional 173,039 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $221.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $108.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $224.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.