AGF Management Ltd. Has $4 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,438 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 735,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 245,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,231,000 after buying an additional 5,148 shares in the last quarter. Morton Community Bank grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 18,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 119.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $229.78 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $241.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.53. The firm has a market cap of $112.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

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.