Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Decreases Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,331,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 287,204 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for approximately 3.1% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $291,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. GM Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.0% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $603,205,000 after purchasing an additional 30,367 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $227.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $232.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.72.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.