Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded up $1.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $217.97. 1,531,981 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,694,078. The company has a market cap of $107.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $221.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MMC shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.25.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $455,771.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,993.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,993.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,338 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,012 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.