Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 671.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 74,693 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $18,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,156,179,000 after acquiring an additional 96,750 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company's stock, 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 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMC. Barclays raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $220.51. 2,196,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,874,379. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $231.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.59. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.72 and a one year high of $248.00. The stock has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.95%.

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.