Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises approximately 2.6% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $9,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 839,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,341,000 after acquiring an additional 24,624 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,919,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,618,000 after buying an additional 6,310 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $226.79 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.77 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.66. 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 has a market cap of $111.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.