Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Stock Position Boosted by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing 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 about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $221.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.70. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.28 and a twelve month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.