Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Has $8.06 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 699 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises approximately 2.1% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.5% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 169,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,644,000 after acquiring an additional 8,796 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.0% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 100,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,250,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $215.23 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $188.31 and a one year high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $105.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.15.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.60.

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.