Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) is Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd lowered its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,160 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for approximately 0.5% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $206.44. The stock had a trading volume of 220,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,011. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $200.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.97. The company has a market capitalization of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.37 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

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.