World Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 29.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 11,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,392,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 982.0% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 2,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after purchasing an additional 23,133 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $215.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.67. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.28 and a 52 week high of $235.50. The stock has a market cap of $105.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.13.

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.