Capital International Sarl Acquires 9,487 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital International Sarl grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,487 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $12,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,186,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,016,000 after purchasing an additional 765,696 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $220.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.79. 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 company has a market cap of $108.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.72 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.