Founders Financial Securities LLC Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after buying an additional 119,236 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,048,077,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after acquiring an additional 11,459 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,474,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,407,000 after acquiring an additional 305,440 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $231.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.19. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $231.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,735 shares of company stock valued at $6,151,377 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MMC shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Roth Mkm raised their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.25.

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 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.