Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. Acquires New Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $231.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a PEG 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $229.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.96. 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

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.