Washington Trust Bank Sells 905 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 905 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 1.4% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $223.25. 2,659,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,778,435. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.28 and a 1-year high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

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.