Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $10,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $224.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.15. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 over the last ninety days. 0.30% 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.