Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases 3,065 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 544.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MMC opened at $234.82 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $227.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.78. The company has a market capitalization of $115.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84.

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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.