Breakwater Capital Group Sells 44 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Breakwater Capital Group lessened its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $228.61 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.06 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $228.03 and a 200-day moving average of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $112.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio 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.