Suncoast Equity Management Takes Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Suncoast Equity Management bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,524,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. First American Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 31,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 81,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 29,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after buying an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,646,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.29.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $197.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 430,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,245. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.64. The company has a market capitalization of $97.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.47 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.