Whittier Trust Co. Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 157,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $33,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after purchasing an additional 686,662 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.