Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 744 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Fiduciary Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 744 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 839,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,341,000 after buying an additional 24,624 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,919,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $226.79 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $230.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.77 and a 12-month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

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.