AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,025 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 0.8%

NYSE MMC opened at $186.59 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.53. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $185.12 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.