Westpac Banking Corp Has $2.96 Million Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 80.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63,671 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.5% in the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 91.1% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $947,636.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,392.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.90, for a total transaction of $584,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 63,012 shares in the company, valued at $12,281,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO John Jude Jones sold 4,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $947,636.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 7,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,392.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded up $3.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $199.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 851,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,189. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $193.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.86 and a 12-month high of $201.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 34.01%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 5th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $226.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.38.

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 in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. 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.