Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,125,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,043 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $239,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $220.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $232.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.79. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.72 and a 12 month high of $248.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $108.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 is presently 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.