CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $10,366,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,178,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $214.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $225.47 and its 200 day moving average is $224.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.21 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

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.