SSI Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

SSI Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth about $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.33.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

MMC opened at $221.96 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.28 and a twelve month high of $232.32. The firm has a market cap of $109.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

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.