Advisors Preferred LLC Sells 528 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Advisors Preferred LLC reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 528 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 127.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 899,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,718,000 after buying an additional 504,897 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31,846.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 427,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,430,000 after buying an additional 426,425 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 219.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 529,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,068,000 after purchasing an additional 363,569 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $227.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $216.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.50 and a 1-year high of $235.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 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%. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus 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.