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

Avestar Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 712.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $232.77 on Wednesday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $114.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $223.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.31.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 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 paid 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 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.