Korea Investment CORP Has $65.67 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,533 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $65,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,346,000 after buying an additional 686,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’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 $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $243.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $243.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.08.

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 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%. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

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.