Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,907 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,907 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $232.59 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $241.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio 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.