Lafayette Investments Inc. Lowers Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Lafayette Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 1.0% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,602,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,180,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,078,000 after acquiring an additional 10,161 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $2,825,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 120,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,814,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $200.89. The company had a trading volume of 466,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,724. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $171.47 and a 12-month high of $209.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.53 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.73.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.