National Bank of Canada FI Grows Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 655,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,746 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $139,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $243.95 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $245.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $230.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.18.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.