Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 12,269 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 94.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,269 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 2,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 5,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 318,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,741,000 after buying an additional 16,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,447,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,858,000 after buying an additional 111,807 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $230.80 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $113.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $229.28 and a 200-day moving average of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.