Norway Savings Bank Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Norway Savings Bank lowered its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,254,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 132.8% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 651,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,066,000 after acquiring an additional 371,870 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 321,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,380,000 after acquiring an additional 118,748 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $287,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2%

MMC stock opened at $202.97 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $206.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.43. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.27 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.