First Trust Advisors LP Has $256.33 Million Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,172,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 94,798 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.24% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $256,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,814,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,193,000 after buying an additional 4,505,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,684,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,762,513,000 after buying an additional 196,475 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,328,587,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,345,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,060,362,000 after acquiring an additional 340,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $221.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total value of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,977,231.82. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $183.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $188.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap 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 one year low of $174.18 and a one year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.07. The business 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%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a 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.