Wealth Management Associates Inc. Sells 162 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Wealth Management Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 13.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Wealth Management Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 11.3% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.0% in the first quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.5% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 2,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of MMC opened at $182.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.73 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.65, for a total transaction of $4,334,896.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $18,031,597.65. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MMC. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $209.00 to $191.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.07.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.