Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Lowers Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 581 shares during the quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 103,259.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 74,945,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,095,813,000 after buying an additional 74,873,326 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 105,777.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,772,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,156,000 after acquiring an additional 9,763,286 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $659,049,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,293,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at about $303,203,000. Institutional investors own 86.64% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $198.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $193.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.20. The company has a market cap of $97.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.86 and a 52-week high of $201.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 34.01%. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 5th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $947,636.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,392.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $947,636.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,392.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.90, for a total value of $584,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,281,038.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $226.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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 in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. 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.