Quantinno Capital Management LP Acquires 6,514 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,514 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,016,000 after purchasing an additional 765,696 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $227.14 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $229.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.74. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.77 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $111.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.