Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4,261.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298,300 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $68,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $3,710,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 236.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,431,000 after acquiring an additional 39,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE MMC opened at $232.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.28 and a 52-week high of $233.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.