Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Acquires 495,938 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 412.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 616,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 495,938 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 0.8% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $130,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $821,000. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 14,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,949,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $231.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $114.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $229.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.95%.

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.