Magnetar Financial LLC Reduces Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Magnetar Financial LLC cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,314 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after acquiring an additional 686,662 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MMC opened at $233.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. The firm has a market cap of $114.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

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.