Ledyard National Bank Grows Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,178,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 11,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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 given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $219.13 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.21 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.70.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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.