Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 8,994 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 98,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,994 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $20,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,048,077,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,243,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,940,789,000 after buying an additional 2,526,701 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,991.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 693,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,047,000 after buying an additional 679,474 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 932,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,066,000 after buying an additional 649,505 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 322.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 761,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,232,000 after acquiring an additional 581,131 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $659,925.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total transaction of $1,170,156.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,578,560.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,735 shares of company stock worth $6,151,377 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.51. 1,741,145 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,399. The stock has a market cap of $111.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.57. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.02 and a 1 year high of $228.47.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMC. Bank of America upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.