Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 112,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,327 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $18,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 135.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MMC. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $157.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, April 24th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 3,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total value of $518,790.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,458,880.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 5,500 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.38, for a total value of $986,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,577,408.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 3,140 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total value of $518,790.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,458,880.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,140 shares of company stock worth $2,493,841. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $180.54 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.33 and a fifty-two week high of $182.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 33.33%. The business had revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 5th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 4th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

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.