Souders Financial Advisors Trims Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Souders Financial Advisors decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 35.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,868 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $947,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,270,000 after purchasing an additional 52,218 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.1% during the first quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 63,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $240.29.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $212.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.21 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.72. The stock has a market cap of $104.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.