Stevens Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,093,817 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% during the fourth 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 boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $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 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $232.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $227.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. The firm has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.