Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 37.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 190,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,420 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $36,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,602,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,180,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,078,000 after buying an additional 10,161 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,825,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 120,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,814,000 after buying an additional 5,405 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $202.41 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.91. The stock has a market cap of $99.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.87.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.