Auxier Asset Management Has $7.92 Million Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises about 1.2% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $233.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.06 and a 200-day moving average of $219.50. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $235.21. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s 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.