NorthRock Partners LLC Boosts Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 72.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’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 $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’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 transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $222.55 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.77 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $109.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $229.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid 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 1.46%. 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.