Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Holdings Cut by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,507 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $52,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 3,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,012,065.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,903,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,009,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,629. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.47 and a 52 week high of $211.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.48 and a 200-day moving average of $199.19. The firm has a market cap of $102.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MMC shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.27.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.