Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Stake Lessened by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,907 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $23,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,380 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,618,000 after buying an additional 6,310 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $242.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.17. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $243.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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