Evercore Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,153 shares during the period. Evercore Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,511,000 after buying an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,278,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

MMC stock opened at $219.22 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.72 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $232.20 and its 200 day moving average is $224.66. The company has a market capitalization of $108.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.

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