Atala Financial Inc Acquires New Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,812,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,200,000 after buying an additional 95,540 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 2,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $849,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth about $1,038,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $230.44.

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Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded down $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,510,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,038. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $225.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.63. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.