BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 273,005 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 273,005 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $62,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,624,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,348,000 after acquiring an additional 380,828 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $954,712,000 after acquiring an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $718,368,000 after acquiring an additional 58,461 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $679,837,000 after acquiring an additional 40,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $224.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.28 and a 12-month high of $232.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $223.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.54.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.00.

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.