Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,534 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $45,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,679,000 after buying an additional 16,464 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $3,635,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 32,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,896,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated 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 for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $224.13 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.77 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $229.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.71. The firm has a market cap of $110.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, 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 value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’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 $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.