Avestar Capital LLC Sells 403 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Avestar Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 403 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $232.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.31. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.28 and a 1-year high of $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 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 dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MMC. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.60.

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.