Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $70.20 Million Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 330,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,215 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $70,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 214,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 24,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,997 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $13,957,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $226.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.73. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current 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 $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.