Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,346,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 478,474 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,197,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 453.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 21,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 17,670 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,940,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 140.9% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 27.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 25,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,581,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,397 shares of company stock valued at $15,694,684 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MMC opened at $243.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $245.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.28.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.