EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 693 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 41.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,404,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,134,000 after purchasing an additional 203,017 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 906,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,218,000 after buying an additional 100,378 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% in the first quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 18,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 3,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.6 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $221.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $109.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $224.23 and its 200 day moving average is $213.40. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.02 and a 12-month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Barclays started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the firm’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 owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.