Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Markel Corp raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 618,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,456,000 after buying an additional 9,300 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 37,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.73.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $201.65 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.