Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 220,015 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $102,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $234.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its 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 net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently 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.