Insider Selling: Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) CEO Sells 49,390 Shares of Stock

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 589,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,045,043. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $225.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $241.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,812,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,200,000 after acquiring an additional 95,540 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.1% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 2,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth $849,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth $1,038,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $230.44.

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.