Why You Should Retain Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Stock for Now
Marsh & McLennan's (MMC) is well-poised for growth on the back of increasing demand for services, revenue growth and margin expansion outlook.
Meridian Wealth Management LLC Invests $209,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)
Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.1% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,000. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 59,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,264,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 148.6% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 8,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.73. Read Our Latest Report on MMC Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance MMC opened at $209.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $103.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $171.47 and a 1 year high of $210.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year. Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.04%. Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile (Free Report) 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.
