D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 68,314 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 68,314 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $34,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $223.94 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.02 and a 52 week high of $232.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $223.85 and its 200 day moving average is $213.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 41.37%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.