Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 75.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,415 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $230.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $113.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.28 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on 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 increased their price target 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.60.

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.