Savvy Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Savvy Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 47.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,395 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $237.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $117.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $233.07 and a 200-day moving average of $224.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value 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. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.