Cetera Investment Advisers Decreases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $11,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 93.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 761,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,563,000 after purchasing an additional 368,970 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth $2,717,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.2% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy 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 $215.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $477,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,625,035.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,609,420. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,735 shares of company stock worth $4,897,317 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $222.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $224.32 and a 200 day moving average of $213.56. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.02 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $109.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.