Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,949 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 105,777.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,772,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,156,000 after purchasing an additional 9,763,286 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $659,049,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,293,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,503,000 after buying an additional 2,075,928 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 331.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,830,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,962,000 after buying an additional 1,406,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 133.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,297,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,095,000 after buying an additional 740,778 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $205.98 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $200.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.03. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.37 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The company has a market capitalization of $101.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.