AGF Management Ltd. Sells 924 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,321,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,059,792,000 after acquiring an additional 581,930 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505,548 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after purchasing an additional 340,907 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $1,038,594,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,858,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $697,471,000 after buying an additional 65,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.0%

MMC stock opened at $180.14 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $174.18 and a one year high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $88.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $195.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.21. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.