Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $11,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 538,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,433,000 after acquiring an additional 41,828 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 368,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,318,000 after purchasing an additional 23,684 shares in the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,644.1% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AKO Capital LLP raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 2,062,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,165,000 after buying an additional 89,594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MMC opened at $242.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $243.89. The stock has a market cap of $119.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.17.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 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 $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Corporate 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.