Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $17,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded down $3.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,783,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,621. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20. The company has a market capitalization of $97.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.