Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 63.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,835 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $9,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 34.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $205.61 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.74 and a 1 year high of $209.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.