Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises approximately 1.8% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 40,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,427,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,032.4% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 24,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,930,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,079. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.28 and a 1-year high of $232.32. The firm has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $224.31 and its 200-day moving average is $217.89.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.