Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,025,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123,278 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.62% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $642,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 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. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

MMC opened at $242.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $243.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $229.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.11.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.