Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,107 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $10,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 4.2 %

MMC opened at $229.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.51. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.80%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.