231 Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Bought by Lee Danner & Bass Inc.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE MMC opened at $232.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.79. The firm has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year 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 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % 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 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

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.