Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 115,336 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 81.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 115,336 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.05% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $54,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 7,380 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

MMC stock traded up $4.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $238.05. The stock had a trading volume of 441,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,225. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $232.84 and a 200 day moving average of $224.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.