United Bank Raises Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

United Bank raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,461,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 106,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,618,000 after buying an additional 6,310 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMC opened at $242.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $229.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.11. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $119.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

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.