UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $1.89 Million Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 399 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $238.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $117.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $228.56 and a 200-day moving average of $223.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s 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.