Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,300 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 91.3% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 298,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,491,000 after acquiring an additional 19,350 shares during the period. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $854,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given 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 $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,691,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,370,855. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $235.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $216.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $112.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

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.