Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 8,152 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,152 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $26,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMC. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 67,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,352,000 after acquiring an additional 12,002 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 14,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,129,000 after buying an additional 759,573 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 952,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,359,000 after acquiring an additional 442,479 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’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 $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.77 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued 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%.

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.