Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New $281,000 Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value 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 represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $232.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $241.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $227.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.82.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

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.