Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Sells 50 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. cut its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.9% in the second quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $74,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total value of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,904 shares of company stock valued at $6,607,149. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $218.09. 1,530,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.17. The company has a market capitalization of $107.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $227.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.73 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 41.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.