Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $234.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $115.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $227.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.78. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

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.