Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 793,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,526,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 60,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,487 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 101.6% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,187,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,048,000 after buying an additional 598,284 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,376,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 35,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,442,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $220.15 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $233.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.79. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.72 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $108.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 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 $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.53.

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.