National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 293,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 177,106 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $64,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Barclays raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $221.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $186.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $91.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.32. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total transaction of $3,841,015.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.