Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 24,624 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 839,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,624 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $187,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $2.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $225.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,410,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,281. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.86. The stock has a market cap of $110.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.29 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

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.