Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $13,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 57,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,883,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. SSI Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 57,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,934,000 after acquiring an additional 9,257 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $233.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $226.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.79. The stock has a market cap of $114.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.