Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,092 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parisi Gray Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $947,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 63,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,447,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 32,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,896,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 448,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,275,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,721,000 after buying an additional 15,079 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,344,405.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,129,075. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $216.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.21 and a 52 week high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 32.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.