Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 943 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,602,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,180,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,078,000 after buying an additional 10,161 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,381,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $2,825,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, hitting $199.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,519,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,502. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.31. The stock has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.