MetLife Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,034 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $28,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,679,000 after purchasing an additional 16,464 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,635,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $220.15 on Friday. The stock 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.79. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $196.72 and a one year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.53.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction 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 $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.