Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Stock Position Raised by Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) by 4.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 735,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,785,000 after buying an additional 11,776 shares in the last quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 35,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,373,000 after buying an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 201,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 118,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $181.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, January 9th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $154.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.27. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.33 and a 52-week high of $183.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.20%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,900 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.70, for a total transaction of $503,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,105,143.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 3,140 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $518,790.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,458,880.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.70, for a total transaction of $503,730.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,105,143.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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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.