Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 3,579 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,579 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $16,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth $28,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MMC stock opened at $199.73 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

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.