Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 337,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,356 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $71,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays assumed 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 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $223.55 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.30. The company has a market capitalization of $110.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.02 and a 1-year high of $232.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 41.37%.

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.