Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) SVP Paul Beswick Sells 2,237 Shares of Stock

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $219.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $248.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Institutional Trading of Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,599,000 after buying an additional 1,883,146 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,966 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.