Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,951 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $16,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,853,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $31,343,000. Ossiam increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 7,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 68,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,071,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.3%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $181.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.18 and a 52 week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,977,231.82. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.