Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,974 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $20,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.8% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $231.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.59. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.