American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,124,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,158 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $238,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $232.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $227.10 and its 200-day moving average is $223.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

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.