Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Decreases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc cut its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,255 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for about 2.6% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $10,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after acquiring an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $718,368,000 after purchasing an additional 58,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the second quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $679,837,000 after buying an additional 40,182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $2.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $215.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,357,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,805. The stock has a market cap of $105.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $224.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.65. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $235.50.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $227.60.

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.