Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Cascade Financial Partners LLC

Cascade Financial Partners LLC reduced its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after acquiring an additional 686,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after acquiring an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $232.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.