Seven Eight Capital LP Takes $4.04 Million Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 19,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $228.07 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $112.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’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 value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of 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 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 transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.53.

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.