Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Holdings Increased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 655,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,746 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.13% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $139,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MMC opened at $243.95 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average is $230.22 and its 200-day moving average is $224.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $245.98. The firm has a market cap of $119.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed 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 on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

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.