Wells Fargo & Company MN Increases Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,466,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 226,961 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.71% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $736,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value 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. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,397 shares of company stock valued at $15,694,684. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 2.9 %

MMC stock traded down $6.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $223.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,027,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,496. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $232.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.50. The stock has a market cap of $110.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.