Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Markel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 618,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,456,000 after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 37,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 43.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.64% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $200.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.86 and a twelve month high of $200.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $192.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 34.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $947,636.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,392.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.90, for a total transaction of $584,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 63,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,281,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $947,636.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares in the company, valued at $1,540,392.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. 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.