Utah Retirement Systems Purchases 200 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $17,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,841,000 after buying an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,156,179,000 after buying an additional 96,750 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after buying an additional 726,713 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,236,186,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the 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 owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $222.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $231.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.57. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.72 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $109.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.