Capital Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3,623.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 113,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 110,333 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $27,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,599,000 after buying an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $207,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $230.13 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $207.06 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $113.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.73. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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 fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’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 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 $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

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.