Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 223,257 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $954,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after purchasing an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,134,000 after buying an additional 203,017 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,218,000 after acquiring an additional 100,378 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% during the first quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MMC stock opened at $223.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.85. The stock has a market cap of $110.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.02 and a 12 month high of $232.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.