UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,376 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE MMC opened at $243.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $229.10 and a 200-day moving average of $224.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $243.89. The company has a market cap of $119.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.