Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Trims Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,030 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $9,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 252.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $232,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 127.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 899,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,718,000 after acquiring an additional 504,897 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,535 shares during the period. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value 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 approximately $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 valued at $13,350,279 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

MMC opened at $238.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $241.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $228.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

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.