Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 56,215 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,215 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $70,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,960,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 587,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,059,000 after purchasing an additional 21,181 shares during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $6,064,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $226.21 and its 200-day moving average is $223.73. The stock has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a P/E 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 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.