Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 803 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.6% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,812,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $403,200,000 after purchasing an additional 95,540 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.0% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 147.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

MMC opened at $232.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $223.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.49. The company has a market capitalization of $114.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $241.84. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MMC. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

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.