Moody National Bank Trust Division Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started 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 target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $231.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.32. The stock has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.84 and a fifty-two week 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.