Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.5%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $216.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $106.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.83. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $207.21 and a one year high of $248.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $224.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.61.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 32.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,344,405.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,129,075. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.