Axa S.A. Sells 21,818 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Axa S.A. lessened its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 147,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,818 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $31,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $223.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $110.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.78. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 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 is currently 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.