Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 95.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,487 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after buying an additional 6,282 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $215.23 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.31 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.15.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.60.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.