Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,236,186,000. Amundi grew its stake in 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,016,000 after purchasing an additional 765,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $218.57. 592,788 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,860,873. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.72 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $232.20 and a 200-day moving average of $224.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid 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 yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.