Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 102.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 173,039 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $76,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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 $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $222.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.15. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.28 and a 12-month high of $232.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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