Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,030 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $9,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,286,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,170,000 after acquiring an additional 71,990 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $238.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $228.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.95. 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 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84. The company has a market cap of $117.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

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.