Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 3,415 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,415 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,409,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $718,368,000 after acquiring an additional 58,461 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,226,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $679,837,000 after purchasing an additional 40,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $230.04. The stock had a trading volume of 445,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $224.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.20. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.28 and a 1 year high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $232.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $227.60.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.