Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 46.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,211 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $11,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,038,594,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,745 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5,035.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 808,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,836,000 after purchasing an additional 793,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,803,000 after purchasing an additional 727,714 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. UBS Group dropped 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. 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target (down previously from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

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 dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $182.84 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.18 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $193.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $89.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.