Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,887 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $22,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $230.71 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.28 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $223.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.11. The company has a market cap of $113.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.60.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.