Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $2.28 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,917,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,046,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,188,348,000 after buying an additional 380,828 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,259,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $807,060,000 after buying an additional 11,459 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,450,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $653,759,000 after acquiring an additional 25,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,350,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,726 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $226.19 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.02 and a fifty-two week high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 16.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.815 dividend. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.