Bolthouse Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,846,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 487.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Marsh & McLennan Companies
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance
MMC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $220.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,196,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,874,379. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.59. The company has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.72 and a 1 year high of $248.00.
Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.95%.
About Marsh & McLennan Companies
(
Free Report)
Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.
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