Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 570 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.3%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $178.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $198.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $176.10 and a one year high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $87.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.