Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 94.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 313,652 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMC. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 133,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,251,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 20,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,407,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Ossiam lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 906.2% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 126,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,938,000 after buying an additional 114,217 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 420,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,347,000 after buying an additional 78,106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,420,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,186,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $219.37. 3,174,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,084. The company has a market cap of $108.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $231.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.72 and a 1 year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.