Souders Financial Advisors Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Souders Financial Advisors trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,059,792,000 after purchasing an additional 581,930 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,060,362,000 after acquiring an additional 340,907 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,038,594,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 65,778 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (down previously from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $178.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.18 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $196.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.81.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. This trade 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. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.