Advisors Preferred LLC Makes New $367,000 Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2,775.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 363.3% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price target (down previously from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $177.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $86.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.31. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.18 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 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 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.