Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Makes New $126,000 Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,991.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 693,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,047,000 after buying an additional 679,474 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $118,353,000. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $95,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31,846.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 427,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,430,000 after purchasing an additional 426,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $225.24 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.45.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.33.

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.