Mariner LLC Has $95.28 Million Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned about 0.09% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $95,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,236,186,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,016,000 after buying an additional 765,696 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,344,405.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,129,075. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $11.17 on Friday, reaching $220.15. 4,377,608 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,867,606. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $233.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $108.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.72 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.80%.

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.