California Public Employees Retirement System Has $475.48 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,238,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,872 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $475,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,236,186,000. Amundi increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in 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 period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $242.39 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $243.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.11.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.41.

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.