Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases Shares of 341,984 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 341,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,424,000. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 0.9% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,431,000 after acquiring an additional 39,013 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $233.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.26 and a 200 day moving average of $219.79. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.