Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,065 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $32,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,993.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.01, for a total value of $1,254,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,159,670.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,338 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,012 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $223.34. 691,426 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,681,034. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $223.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.25.

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.