Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 37,231 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 168,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,231 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $36,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.9% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 1,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.5% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $181.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.18 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMC. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective (down from $243.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $209.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $222.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $221.00 to $206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.00.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.