Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,675 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $27,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after buying an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,554,841,000 after acquiring an additional 145,134 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,186,000. Amundi raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

MMC traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.37. 3,174,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,872,726. The stock has a market capitalization 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.72 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $231.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Barclays upped 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.

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.