Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys New Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,569,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,679,000 after buying an additional 16,464 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,635,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $11.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $220.15. 4,377,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,867,606. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.79. The company has a market capitalization of $108.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.72 and a one 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.