Swiss National Bank Has $295.10 Million Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,389,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $295,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Amundi lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after buying an additional 686,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $229.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.07 and its 200 day moving average is $223.53. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $241.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.