Swiss National Bank Sells 46,700 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,544,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $292,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,423,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,696,223,000 after buying an additional 61,408 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,278,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,881,000 after purchasing an additional 31,821 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,145,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,169,403,000 after purchasing an additional 150,655 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,979,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,137,960,000 after purchasing an additional 271,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,277,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,723,000 after buying an additional 83,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMC. TD Cowen increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $199.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,039,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,866. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.