Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth $3,710,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,554 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,431,000 after buying an additional 39,013 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $222.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.28 and a 12 month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.