Longview Partners Guernsey LTD Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD lowered its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,561,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107,749 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 4.1% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $544,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,376,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 35,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $724,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $7,569,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,459,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $237.75.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $231.14 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.23 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $113.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.