Prudential PLC Acquires 44,145 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 44,145 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $20,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 10,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the period. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 18,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,870,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 4,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $219.73. The company had a trading volume of 588,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,812. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $232.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $248.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $108.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

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.