Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 1,266 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 365,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $77,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock opened at $236.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $241.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.03 and its 200-day moving average is $223.84. The company has a market cap of $116.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

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.