Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 81,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,206,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,134,000 after purchasing an additional 203,017 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,218,000 after buying an additional 100,378 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% during the first quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 3,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $14,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $223.08 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other 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 value of $1,170,156.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,578,560.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.41.

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.