Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 222,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $47,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after buying an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,841,000 after acquiring an additional 145,134 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,236,186,000. Amundi grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’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 $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $229.84 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $232.44 and a 200 day moving average of $224.51.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.