Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Stock Position Lowered by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,025,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123,278 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $642,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MMC opened at $242.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $119.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $243.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.