Blue Trust Inc. Sells 3,281 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,281 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 132,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,507,000 after acquiring an additional 19,024 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,992,000 after acquiring an additional 5,857 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 30,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,733,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $228.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $112.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $235.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $216.71 and a 200 day moving average of $221.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

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.