Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,002 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 14,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,129,000 after purchasing an additional 759,573 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 952,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,359,000 after buying an additional 442,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $228.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.77 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $230.34 and its 200 day moving average is $224.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.95%.

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.