Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,822,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 349,494 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $398,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,803,000 after buying an additional 727,714 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,092,108,000 after purchasing an additional 837,117 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,692,000 after purchasing an additional 34,400 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,745 shares during the period. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% in the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,875,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE MMC opened at $181.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $187.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.16. The company has a market capitalization of $89.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.18 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 31.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total transaction of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $15,977,231.82. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $258.00 to $257.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

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.