Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,278,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MMC stock opened at $219.27 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.21 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $226.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.50. The stock has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.83.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,344,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,129,075. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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, UBS Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.