Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 7,360 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 323,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,360 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $70,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,803,000 after acquiring an additional 727,714 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,092,108,000 after purchasing an additional 837,117 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% during the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,692,000 after purchasing an additional 34,400 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total transaction of $3,841,015.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,977,231.82. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $213.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $243.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $183.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.18 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.70.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.17%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.