JLB & Associates Inc. Sells 4,001 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

JLB & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,001 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 1.7% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $12,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,059,792,000 after acquiring an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,060,362,000 after purchasing an additional 340,907 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,038,594,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,858,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $697,471,000 after buying an additional 65,778 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MMC. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $199.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.01 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $203.66 and a 200-day moving average of $217.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

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.