Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,872 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $3,710,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,348,000 after buying an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 68,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,431,000 after purchasing an additional 39,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MMC traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $222.14. 1,930,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,689,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.89. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $184.28 and a one year high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.