Dean Michael Klisura Sells 7,121 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Stock

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $229.78 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

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 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, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

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.