Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,002 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

MMC opened at $228.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.77 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $230.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.