Davis R M Inc. Sells 44 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Davis R M Inc. lowered its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $232.98 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $241.84. The company has a market cap of $114.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.49.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.