American Century Companies Inc. Has $238.88 Million Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,124,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,158 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $238,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,286,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,170,000 after acquiring an additional 71,990 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $232.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $241.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $227.10 and a 200-day moving average of $223.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

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.