Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 759,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,938 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $169,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $222.14. 1,930,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,689,079. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.89. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $232.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

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.