Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $230.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $113.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $227.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.73. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.06 and a 12-month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,196 shares of company stock valued at $14,262,309 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.