Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,803,000 after purchasing an additional 727,714 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,662,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,692,000 after buying an additional 34,400 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,845,000 after buying an additional 2,623,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total value of $4,334,896.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $180.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.18 and a 1 year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

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.