State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Cuts Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,616 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $30,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $212.16 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.74. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.72 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $104.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

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.