Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,360 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,360 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $70,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.9% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.7% in the second quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 1,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.5% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Seven investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $183.08 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.70. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.18 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.