Blueshift Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 330,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,203,000 after acquiring an additional 56,215 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 214,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 24,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,219,000 after acquiring an additional 6,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,957,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $232.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was 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 valued at $13,350,279 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.