Capital Research Global Investors Buys 14,432 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,420,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 0.49% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $514,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 487.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.9% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $220.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.79. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.72 and a 52-week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.