Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 18,202 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,180,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,202 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $263,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.7% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 148,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,666,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $2.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $226.68. 468,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,712. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year high of $232.32. The company has a market capitalization of $111.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.45.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $225.33.

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.