Grove Bank & Trust Purchases 112 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 169,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,644,000 after acquiring an additional 8,796 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.0% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 100,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,250,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $215.23 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.31 and a 52-week high of $235.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $218.62 and a 200 day moving average of $221.15. The company has a market capitalization of $105.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 40.15%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.60.

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.