Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 85.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $29,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,236 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $2,188,348,000 after purchasing an additional 380,828 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,712,000 after purchasing an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,368,000 after purchasing an additional 58,461 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the second quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,837,000 after purchasing an additional 40,182 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $219.10 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $225.16 and a 200-day moving average of $216.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.