Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Purchases 4,147 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,147 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $22,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Amundi raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,286,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,170,000 after acquiring an additional 71,990 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company 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 fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 cut their target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.