Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,535,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 768,837 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.72% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $750,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Amundi raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 5.9 %

MMC opened at $229.94 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.50. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The firm has a market cap of $113.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a PEG 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’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 value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,397 shares of company stock worth $15,694,684 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.