Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 313,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,596,000 after buying an additional 2,914 shares during the last quarter. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.9% in the first quarter. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd now owns 50,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,142,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,224,000 after acquiring an additional 12,918 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 50.6% in the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 54,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,138,000 after acquiring an additional 18,175 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $227.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.82. 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 1-year low of $184.28 and a 1-year high of $232.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.