Huntington National Bank Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $229,803,000 after buying an additional 727,714 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.9% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,662,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth about $4,673,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $180.31 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.18 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $88.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $233.00 to $221.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,031,597.65. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.